Namikaze Tensai
by ByEvelyn
Summary: When life hands you a Mini-Yondaime, what do you do? Train him, of course! Smart!Naruto, Minato-like!Naruto, Strong!Naruto.
1. Chapter 1: Enter, Kakashi Hatake!

**Namikaze Tensai**

When life hands you a Mini-Yondaime, what do you do? Train him, of course! Smart!Naruto, Minato-like!Naruto, Strong!Naruto.

I'm so _excited_ for this story! I'm a very busy person so I won't update regularly, but each update shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks.

**EDITED:** 17 August 2012

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**My reasons for writing:**

I **won't** be sticking to the original Naruto plot completely. There will be MAJOR changes. Such as Orochimaru, ect. It's a **partial **rewrite.

Although I love him, I've always wished **Naruto** was more intelligent and not so...well, brash. I love **Minato** and I'm making him a mix of his current self and his father. So, smart, strong, kind, determined Naruto. Woot.

Buy don't worry, I won't mary-sue him! Let's see, one of canon Naruto's strength was that he always pretty self-confident and when anyone, let's say, Sasuke insulted him, he just laughed/shouted it off. To balance this, i'll probably make my Naruto slightly more vulnerable. (Don't worry, he'll still kick ass.)

The **Hiraishin** fascinates me. I want to make it a Namikaze **bloodline**. It's necessary for the plot I have planned. ^^ You'll see, it won't be totally out of context.

**Kakashi** sucks in Naruto. Okay, I love him (favourite character alert!) but he ignored Naruto until Shippuden- so complete re-vamp of relationship! Also, It**_ BAFFLES_** me that he never had contact with his _sensei's son! _I mean, seriously? **Jiraiya** was bad enough (I will not accept any excuse from him, where the hell was he?), but Kakashi is actually _in _Kohona.

I love partial re-writes, but they always seems to include either a Naruto who is just_ way_ too** overpowered** for it to be **convincing**, or Naruto is like,** abused** every day of his life. Neither theme I'm too fond of. I'm not denying the fact he may have been-in fact I have a similar incident in this story, but I'm pretty sure the citizens didn't do **daily fox hunts**. Heh, anyway...

There will be much OOC-ness.

Oh, also deciding on whether to do pairings or not. **Poll** is on my profile.

**I'm giving Naruto's abilities he didn't have in canon. Nothing that makes him god-like, I'm not fond of anyone being overpowered...eh, well, you'll see in this chapter.**

Anyway, here's the story!

A/N: Semi-angtsy, probably the product of watching** Kakashi Gaiden** again. I've never **cried** so much in my life.

Oh yeah, and when Naruto's a kid, i'll probably slip into my 'Papa Kakashi' tone. Sorry about that, be prepared for a lot of 'cute' and 'adorable's.

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, I'd be rich and wouldn't have to do crappy exams. Yeah.

* * *

**Chapter One: Kakashi Hatake**

**Six Years Old**

* * *

It was October the Tenth; otherwise known as the day the Yondaime died, sacrificing his young life in order to defeat the dreaded nine tailed demon, the Kyuubi no Yoko. But for one little boy, the day held a different significance; it was his sixth birthday. The jeers from the crowd and the crackling from the bonfire was a hum in the small apartment, located far away from the village centre. The boy, Naruto Uzumaki, was highly alert. It was unusual for a six year old to be able to sense other presences efficiently, but it had become a necessity. Although the Sandaime, his Jiji, ruthlessly punished, banished or executed any villager, Shinobi or otherwise, that threatened Naruto's well-being, there were those who still persisted. On his fifth birthday, the first he'd lived alone, three men had broken into his apartment and proceeded to try and kill the boy, only to be cut down where they stood. He remembered the tufts of grey hair dyed red with blood with sickening clarity. The ANBU, Wolf-san, who dealt the punishment, emitted such strong, malicious killing intent that Naruto had to remind himself how to _breathe_. Apart from the shock and disturbance from seeing their deaths first-hand, he felt immense gratitude towards his saviour.

He still found reason to feel indebted towards the ANBU. Along with the gift of his life, came his ever lingering company. Wolf was never far behind him; his presence was a constant buzz in the back of his brain. Although his chakra was ...cold, just by being there Naruto felt less lonely. Wolf was a friend, even if he didn't know it. Naruto knew that if he revealed his awareness of the ANBU's presence and made contact, there was the chance he wouldn't ever come back. But, being alone on his birthday, his only company being a surprisingly well-baked chocolate cake, the onslaught of solitude crushed his hesitation.

"Hello?" He spoke softly and turned toward to ANBU. He felt the chakra spike; Wolf-san probably thought there was an enemy. "Why don't you come out, Wolf-san?"

There was no reply, even worse, Wolf's presence completely disappeared. The back of Naruto's eyes began to burn as he felt the urge to cry. He'd half expected the reaction, but he'd hoped Wolf would've come through the window and had some of his cake. Maybe Wolf could've even been his first friend. He didn't have many friends; Jiji was more like a grandfather, but Naruto rarely saw him. The man was too busy looking after the village he hadn't yet visited him on his birthday. At least at the orphanage, even if the majority of the assistants or kids hadn't liked him, they were there. He cried hot, frustrated tears over the unfairness of it all. He just didn't _understand_ why everyone looked at him with _those _fearful eyes; he loved people, especially Jiji, the nice man and lady at Ichiraku's and Wolf. But now he didn't even have Wolf! He put his fork down on the table, suddenly not feeling the slightest bit hungry. If anything, he felt sickened. _It must be something I've done..._

A soft knock at his door drew him away from his self-loathing. A familiar presence was standing just outside his door. He took a moment to bathe in the strange warmth the ANBU was emitting before grinning. Wolf came back, he felt so lucky! He took a couple of unsure steps before hurrying to his door; he didn't want to keep his visitor waiting, if he did, he felt that Wolf might've left. His little hand was shaking as he opened the door, revealing an unfamiliar face. Wolf-san wasn't wearing his mask! He was wearing _a _mask, but not his ANBU mask.

"Yo!" Kakashi held up his hand and greeting, noting the boy's shock and recent tear marks with growing guilt. Even worse, he would've probably _never_ made contact if the boy hadn't called out to him. "Maa, aren't you going to invite me in?" One shy nod later and Kakashi entered the small apartment. He felt surprised, but prideful at the cleanliness of the room; his own apartment was probably in a worse state.

"Ano...do you want some cake?" Naruto asked bashfully. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a nervous fluttering in his stomach as the grey-haired man inspected his room. He also felt disheartened at the fact he had no idea how to interact with the man; a product of being growing up with little adult interaction. He desperately hoped Wolf-san would lead the conversation. Kakashi eyed the cake warily; he'd seen the kid bake it. He knew for a fact kids can't bake.

"Sure. Make it a big slice." He figured he'd deal with the food-poisoning tomorrow. He was soon eating his thoughts, quite literally, when he ate a bite of the cake. An onyx eyed stared in surprise at the blushing six year old. _It seems, even though he's practically Minato-sensei's clone, he's inherited Kushina-nee-chan's cooking skills. Reminder to self: visit more often._

"Is it okay?" The guy wasn't saying anything. He just sat there, unmoving. Naruto was worried he'd killed Wolf-san with his cake. _Strange...I thought it tasted alright..._

"Maa, I think this is the best cake I've ever tasted, Naruto-chan." That was saying something; Kakashi usually hated sweets. The cute blonde blushed at the honorific, and beamed at Kakashi's praise. A feeling of bitter warmth hit the Copy-nin; he knew Naruto didn't get any on a regular basis. After he finished his second piece of cake, he decided to get serious. "So, Naruto-chan, mind telling me how you knew I was there?"

"Ano...I've known you were there for a while." The blonde swallowed nervously. Was he in trouble?

"Maa, how long's a while?"

"Well, since you saved me." He admitted grudgingly. He didn't like Wolf-san's reaction. He grey-haired man gaped at him for a while before speaking.

"You've been able to sense my presence since you were _five?" _Kakashi was speechless. Even Genin have trouble sensing presences, especially a damn ANBU. Even a Chuunin wouldn't have been able to know his location! "How?"

"Um... I sensed your Chakra?" Naruto had only figured out it was Chakras he could sense after reading several scrolls. They did not, however, explain that being a Chakra sensor was increasingly rare. The man's reaction was baffling to him.

"Maa, it seems you're a natural Chakra sensor." Kakashi eye-smiled at the young boy. He was already talented, even at six years old. _Minato-sensei would be proud._

"Um...what's one of those, Wolf-san?" Kakashi realized he hadn't told the boy his name.

"Kakashi." Naruto blinked.

"What's that?"

"My name; it's Kakashi Hatake." He paused. "A Chakra sensor is exactly what it sounds like. Basically, it's the ability to perceive the location of people through the sensing of their Chakra systems. A sensor's skills differentiate depending on who they are." Kakashi was losing Naruto towards the end of his explanation. Naruto was smart, but he was still six. It seems the copy-nin hadn't had much, if any, contact with children.

"Differ...entiate?"

"It changes." Kakashi eye-smiled when Naruto's face brightened with understanding, the boy soaked up knowledge like a sponge, just like his sensei. "There aren't many out there, which means you're special, Naruto-chan." Naruto frowned. Special? He didn't like that. He was weird enough already. Kakashi quickly changed his words. "I mean, you're talented. You'll be able to sense presences better than me in no time." This made the blonde beam, Kakashi was giving him so much praise, Naruto couldn't help the rush of joy bubbling in his chest. The blonde couldn't remember feeling so...acknowledged before.

"Maa, look at the time! Hate to say it, but I've got to go."

"Ah...okay." Kakashi frowned at his sensei's son. A sad expression had clouded the boy's face, he didn't like it, nor did he like he dejected tone. He debated spending another half hour with the blonde, but he was already an hour late for his meeting with the Sandaime.

"I'll come back when I can." He didn't want to give a date; he didn't even know his own schedule. The boy's expression brightened.

"You promise?" Naruto look hopeful and shy again. Kakashi thought it was cute.

"Yeah, I promise." He ruffled the boy's hair and winked. "Ja ne!" He disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto to gawk.

"So...cool!"

It seems to blonde found his new idol.

* * *

"Kakashi, I'm surprised, you're unusually early." The Sandaime and several Jounin looked thoroughly surprised. However, Hiruzen's astonishment was covered with irritation; Kakashi hadn't entered through the door. Again. _What's wrong with the damn door? Why is it always the window?_

"Maa, I'm early? I was under the impression I was _late._" Kakashi drawled. Otherwise he would've spent more time with the kid.

"By an hour. We were prepared to be waiting another two." The Jounin in the room chuckled. Kakashi recognised is friends Genma and Gai and leisurely moved to sit between them.

"My eternal rival! I'm thankful for your youthful timing, I was sure I was going the miss the festival!" Kakashi internally sighed at his close-friend's weird dialect. Though, he wouldn't have him any other way.

"Hm? Sorry Gai, did you say something?" As expected, the same sentence always works like a charm.

"...My eternal rival is so cool and hip!" Kakashi ignored Gai's rush of tears and edged towards Genma. His grown, green friend was really quite disturbing. Even when he wasn't crying.

Kakashi's thoughts were on the blonde haired boy back in the dim apartment. By the end of the annual meeting, he would tell the Hokage of his plans. He'd actually retired, only slightly unwilling, ANBU several days earlier, but had taken to watching Naruto in his spare time. Not only was it a habit, he was worried about the boy, especially on his birthday. As he remembered his first day watching the boy, he cringed; Genma narrowed his eyes in concern, but said nothing.

He'd hated Naruto. A sad truth, but a truth nonetheless; when he first saw the boy, after the Kyuubi's attack, he was so _happy_ that not all of his Sensei had disappeared. He wasn't left alone; Rin was gone, Obito was gone, Kushina-nee-chan and Minato-sensei were gone, but pieces of the latter two were inside Naruto. So, when he found out the boy contained the very being that took two of his precious people away from him, he'd recoiled in disgust. It was like an insult, the demon lurking beneath the surface of his intended younger brother, did fate hate him?

He'd seen Naruto in the usual misguided light, for his tenant, the demon. At the time he knew it was sick, he knew it was wrong, but his utter hatred clouded reason. Kakashi started to feel the familiar sickness of guilt build up in his heart; he would probably be thinking the same of the boy if the Hokage hadn't _commanded, _or rather, threatened him to guard Naruto. Worse, the blonde would probably be dead. And Naruto definitely _deserved _to be alive.

It was little things at first. He'd try to ignore how skinny the boy was, or how small; he was obviously the victim of slight malnutrition; probably the product of neglect. He didn't know whether it was intentional or not. Still, ever time the boy passed a homeless animal, he'd break off a little of his own food, or even go to the trouble of finding them scraps. He saw how the owners of Ichiraku treated the boy. At first, he thought they were just being polite, perhaps they were desperate for customers... but he eventually saw their affection for the boy, to say it had baffled would be a slight understatement. He _eventually, _far too late in his opinion, saw why they liked the boy; Naruto's kind-heartedness could turn a mass murderer down a right path. There was one particular event where a middle-aged civilian woman dropped her groceries. Naruto had helped pick them up; it made his blood boil when he thought of the woman's reaction. She'd screamed at him. _Screeched with fear and hatred. _She'd riled up the crowd so badly the boy had to run home. He'd run in, bolted the door shut, and proceeded to bawl his eyes out. He was in such a state; it had made the boy sick. Literally. Worse, Kakashi couldn't even comfort him. It wasn't even that he wasn't suppose to reveal himself; the pain of seeing a younger version of his sensei, and the bitter knowledge of his tenant made his limbs freeze...it was too painful.

But nothing, _nothing,_ compared to his fifth birthday. He hadn't felt such bloodlust since Rin was killed on a mission. He was completely prepared to cut them into tiny little pieces, until he remembered the presence of a traumatised little blonde.

"Kakashi?" Hiruzen examined the copy-nin in concern. The meeting had been over for five minutes and the man was just sitting there. From the expression on his face, he wasn't thinking happy thoughts. "Is it Naruto? Is he okay?" He was getting increasingly worried about the surrogate grandson as they neared his admission into the academy. He hoped the children would be kind, but he suspected otherwise. Their parents had probably poisoned their minds with their fear. For all of his love for the village, the inhabitants could be quite ignorant, and it wasn't like he could go around everyone and teach them the basics of Fuuinjutsu. He was just thankful Naruto was entering a class filled with a majority of Shinobi-born children; they didn't fear the boy. Kakashi stood up and made sure they were alone.

"Ah, gomen gomen. Actually, I wanted to speak to you about him." This raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I'd like to request that you visit him later. It _is_ his birthday, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen smiled. It was nice to know Naruto had another to care for him.

"Of course, I was planning on leaving in a little while. What else?" Kakashi hesitated at his question.

"Before I tell you, I'd like to know if you could keep it...well, quiet, until I've sorted something out. I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, but I don't fully trust the intentions of some...people." _Or rather, Danzo. _Hiruzen gripped his pipe with tense hands. Kakashi never usually spoke with such a respectful tone. It had to be the Kyuubi. He nodded.

"I will."

"Ah, good. Well, Naruto's a sensor." Hiruzen blinked. That was unexpected. Surprising, but in a good way. "And he's smart. He'd been reading scrolls...what I'm _trying_ to say is...I'd like to train him, an apprenticeship. On an extracurricular basis of course, I have no desire to stop him going to the academy." He waited whilst Hiruzen smoked his pipe. The Hokage was troubled; you could see that much by his furrowed brow.

"As much as I'd love to say yes, I'd have to inform the council. I doubt they'd agree, especially since apprenticeship comes hand-in-hand with guardianship." _Not the civilian representatives...or Danzo. No, especially not Danzo. Not when he wants Naruto for himself._

"I know the clan heads. I can get their votes. And I can speak to the ANBU and Jounin representative...I guess I'd like an audience with the elders, if that's possible." The Sandaime's advisors had made enough trouble by pronouncing the boy un-adoptable. There were several reasons, some more relevant than others. Naruto and Kohona's best interests were at heart, they didn't fully trust the intentions of the Uchiha clan, and to deny them the right of Uzumaki of a child to a different clan would only serve to increase the current conflict.

Of course, Kakashi hadn't been willing to take the boy in himself, but he knew several clans had offered. The Yamanaka clan would've made a good home. Perhaps not the Uchiha, the boy was far too cheerful for their...stern way of life. It was a shock they'd even put the offer in, the _main_ house no less! Kakashi didn't know the bastard Fugaku had a compassionate bone in his body.

"I see... If I'm correct, Koharu is in her office as we speak. There's no time like the present, hm?"

"Maa, I guess not. Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"You're welcome, Kakashi. And good luck, he would do well under your guidance." He chuckled. "I think you may find persuading her rather easy, I've always had to feint suspicion she's...infatuated with you." The thought alone made Kakashi shudder.

Kakashi nodded and made his way out of the Hokage's office. He was dreading a meeting with the female member of the elders. In his opinion, she was a cold-hearted bitch. As a clan head in his own right, he's attended a grand total of two council meetings; only when they regarded Naruto. The first was after his attack, the second for his admission into the academy. The boy had barely gotten in, product of the sharp tongue dealt by Danzo, who apparently wanted to train Naruto himself, and the hesitation of the Civilian representatives... not that they had _that_ much say in Shinobi affairs. Of course, there hadn't been much trouble with Naruto entering school until Koharu and Homura, both respected individuals, spoke up. He would have to change her mind directly. When he reached her office door, he gave it a sharp, professional knock.

"Come in." By Koharu's tone, Kakashi could tell she was in a particularly sour mood. Not good. "Ah, Sharingan no Kakashi, a surprising visit." She eyed the young man with an arched eyebrow; the similarities to his father were uncanny. Just exiting the teenage years at twenty, he had grown into a handsome man. He was perhaps even more attractive that his late father, who had a notoriously large fan club that just _loved _his muscular frame. Kakashi was far more slender and elegant, it only made her wonder whether he took after his mother, a kindly, baby-faced doctor, or father under the mask.

"Ah, Koharu-sama, If I could just have a word?" Koharu raised her eyebrow. _Koharu...sama? Just what does he want?_

"Well? Go ahead. Don't waste my time."

"It's concerning Naruto Uzumaki." Koharu raised an eyebrow and gazed at Kakashi impassively.

"The Kyuubi child?" Kakashi tried to stay calm, but she made his _blood boil_.

"No. Naruto Uzumaki." He realised he was releasing killer intent and quickly reined it in.

"I didn't realize you were so fond of the boy, Hatake-san. I was under the impression you wanted nothing to do with him." Koharu was more than curious at Kakashi's change in heart. She held no ill-feelings for the boy herself, but he was a dangerous liability.

"He changed my mind."

"Oh?"

"...Before I tell you of my main request, I'd like you to meet him." Kakashi knew he was pushing it. He chose to persevere down the risky path, but if things went right, it could also be the most productive.

"I think you need to know your place, Hatake-san."

"Koharu-sama, I'm begging you for just a few minutes of your time." _Being indebted towards an elder could be dangerous. I hope I'm making the right choice._

"What purpose would this serve? What are you after?"

"That will be revealed after you meet him, Koharu-sama." Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. She sighed and grudgingly nodded.

"Alright, bring him here." Kakashi's eyed widened.

"N-now?" Well, he hadn't expected that. In fact, he hadn't expected her to agree at all, let alone be so keen. Though if what the Hokage said was true...he tried his hardest not to gag. _Thank Kami she's never seen under my mask..._

"I have no wish to attend the festival. Too loud." She picked up her brush and began filling in paperwork. "Well? Go on then. Don't waste my time."

"Ah, of course. I'll be right back." He shunshin'd out of the office. Koharu eyed the new pile of leaves distastefully.

* * *

Naruto had just finished cleaning away his own pile of leaves when Kakashi abruptly appeared in his apartment. He yelped and stumbled backwards from the sudden movement, promptly falling over and hitting his head on the end of the chair.

"Ouch..." He closed his eyes and gingerly rubbed the throbbing area before the pain seemed to instantly dissipate. It was strange, he never seemed to bruise. He opened his eyes to concerned Wolf-san inches away from his face.

"Maa, that was quite the bump, 'you okay?" He blinked before nodding and smiling brightly.

"Yup!" Naruto awkwardly got to his feet. "When you said you'd come back, I didn't think you meant in two hours." He teased, although he couldn't deny that he was happy his new friend wanted to keep him company. Kakashi chuckled.

"Hmm, you can call me Kakashi, Naruto-chan. I'm not ANBU anymore." This news shocked Naruto.

"You're _not?" _He bit his lip. If Kakashi wasn't ANBU, then he wouldn't always be around. He looked up at his cool new friend. Somehow, he found that speaking to Wolf-san was worth it.

"Ah, no." Kakashi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I actually have someone I want you to meet."

"Someone...you want _me _to meet?" Naruto smiled at the copy-nin in delight. _Another friend?_ Kakashi noticed how excited the blonde was and felt horribly guilty. He couldn't imagine the meeting being...pleasant. He bent down to Naruto's height, which was quite a feat considering how small the boy was, and looked him in the eye. Naruto snapped to attention, he recognised the serious body-language.

"Listen, Naruto-chan. You need to make this person like you." Naruto swallowed nervously and nodded.

"That might be hard, wo-Kakashi."

"Ah, well I'm sure you'll be able to do it." Kakashi smiled reassuringly and Naruto calmed down instantly. "Hmm... bring some of the cake." He walked over the boy's wardrobe and picked out a clean, deep blue sweater. "And put this on. I'll be waiting outside." He mock saluted the boy and exited via the window.

"So...cool!" Naruto gushed. His new friend was the _best!_

They arrived outside the Hokage tower in little under half an hour. Naruto was wrapped up in his puffy orange coat, an unusual colour choice, but nevertheless endearing. He was saved from the cold eyes of the villagers; the streets were sparsely populated due to the mass gathering in the centre. This didn't draw away from the fact the evening was cold and biting, an unfitting air for a child's birthday.

"Um, 'Kakashi, who exactly are we meeting?" The boy had to crane his neck upwards at an uncomfortable angle to catch sight of the Jounin's face. He couldn't deny that the silver hair, especially in the sunset, was pretty awesome.

"An elder, so remember to be...respectful." He felt slightly hypocritical. He'd love to disembowel the woman. "And look cute. Those eyes are killers."

"Huh?" Naruto asked confusedly. Kakashi just chuckled. He wasn't joking however; the blonde's big cerulean eyes reminded him so much of his late sensei, he found it hard to look at them. _If he wasn't the Jinchuuriki, there'd be no limit to his admirers._

The pair entered the Hokage tower and made their way to Koharu's office. Kakashi put his hand protectively on the boy's head and death-glared at the unaccommodating staff. The receptionist had been particularly snippy, well, until she saw Kakashi. His female followers were horribly shallow, it was no wonder he was still a bachelor. When they reached Koharu's opposing office door, he decided to give his future student a few words of encouragement.

"Now listen, Naruto. This woman may be a b- not very nice person, but persevere!" He eye-smiled and Naruto blinked.

"Perse-?" Kakashi internally groaned. Talking to children was difficult.

"Persevere, it means to keep trying. Basically, just butter her up until she likes you." Understanding dawned on Naruto's face, his eyes steeled with determination. Kakashi was taken aback with the nostalgic expression; the blue held the same clarity and fire as Minato-sensei had when he set himself a goal. It was almost painful.

"Okay. I can do this! Thanks, Kakashi." Naruto smiled sincerely and knocked gently on the elder's door.

"Come in." Koharu's hard tone nearly made Naruto flinch, but only served to make him far more determined. By the end of the meeting, he vowed that she was going to adore him. _She won't know what hit her._ Kakashi opened to door for him and they both stepped inside. Koharu squinted at the pair and her gaze seemed to finally rest on Kakashi. "Hatake-san, wait outside."

"Er, okay. I'll wait by the door." He hesitated but eventually made his way to the door, patting the kid's head on the way out. He felt bad, leaving his future student to deal with the bitch by himself.

"Okay!" Naruto watched Kakashi leave and then smiled shyly at the elder. At first gaze he thought she seemed pretty harmless, but at a closer inspection he recognised her rigid posture and icy persona. He concluded that the woman was probably pretty powerful, so he should act respectful like Kakashi said. It seems he won't be nicknaming _this_ old lady. He bowed at the waist. "Hello, Koharu-sama."

"Sit down, Uzumaki." Koharu wasn't sure what to think of the boy. Many times she walked in on his meetings with the Hokage. His term of endearment, 'Old man' seemed quite disrespectful. She'd assumed he was bratty. Naruto smiled shyly and sat in the chair opposite. He set the plastic container he'd been carrying on her desk.

"I brought you some cake." He paused. "I cut it into small pieces in case you didn't have a fork."

"Thank you." Naruto blinked at the elder's stiff reply. He felt the urge to groan. _How awkward. _He decided to go for the overly-cheery approach. He grinned at the sullen woman.

"Why don't you try some?" Koharu grudgingly opened the plastic container and popped a small piece of cake into her mouth. Her eyes opened slightly with surprise, revealing extremely dark eyes.

"This is good, Uzumaki. If I may, where did you get it from?" Koharu usually didn't like sweets, but the chocolate cake was heavenly. Naruto beamed.

"I baked it!" He exclaimed proudly. Koharu raised an eyebrow.

"You did? Did Kakashi help?" She never really put the silver-haired Jounin down as the domestic type.

"Nope! I made it by myself. I like baking." He smiled sweetly and Koharu felt herself warming up to the boy. He was interesting; his cheerful aura was inviting without being overbearing.

"That's impressive." Naruto's grinned again. _Two awesome compliments in one day? Best. Birthday. Ever!_

"Thank you! Hardly anyone's tried my cooking before." He paused and tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully. "I think you'll like my cookies. I'll bring some over next time!"

"That would be acceptable." If his cookies tasted anything like his cake, Koharu hardly minded having some.

"It's my birthday today." Naruto decided to state. It wasn't news to Koharu, but she decided to humour the boy.

"Oh, it is? Did you get anything nice?" _Probably not much_, she thought. She was surprised to find herself feeling slightly guilty.

"Um, well, Jiji gave me some scrolls. And I made a friend! Kakashi's really, _really_ nice." His smiled widened. "He liked my cake too."

"That's nice."

Naruto decided her liked the lady. Sure, she was pretty intimidating, and didn't seem very friendly, but her chakra was nice. Being the open child he was, he decided to tell her.

"Y'know, you have really nice Chakra." He paused, taking in the feel of the elder's Chakra. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but it felt sunshine and dried grass. "It kinda' reminds me of summer."

"Pardon?" She was speechless with the utter oddity of his statement. _Feels like summer? Is this the Kyuubi? _Naruto froze and the change of tone and smiled shyly.

"Ano...Kakashi says I'm a Chakra sensor." Koharu just shook her head. It seemed to boy was full of surprises. A six year old master chef, jinchuriki _and _a sensor? Oh _dear._

"Well, that's quite a rare talent." Not that he wasn't _special_ enough already. The boy smiled gently at her praise.

"Thank you!" His brows furrowed and he pouted cutely. Koharu was not a wall of impervious stone; she knew when kids were cute, even if she did not dote unlike others her age. But, it seems Kohona's resident jinchuriki was too adorable to disregard to fact. "I don't get why it reminds me of summer though."

"What does Hatake-san's remind you of?" Naruto seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"A storm! A thunder storm." Koharu nodded in understanding. Thunder meant lightening. Summer meant fire.

"Everyone has a different elemental affinity. Mine's fire."

"Oh." Naruto nodded the cogs in his brain working overtime.

"Hatake-san's is lightening." Naruto's eyes lit up with understanding.

"Oh!" He grinned at the new piece of information. "That's pretty useful, right?"

"Indeed, it's quite the advantage." She agreed.

After a couple more minutes of small talk, she decided enough was enough. Her curiosity had reached its peak.

"Hatake-san, come in." She waited impatiently for the lazy jounin to saunter in, orange book in hand. She shook her head disbelievingly at his choice in literature. "I do hope you weren't reading that in front of Uzumaki-kun." Kakashi raised his eyebrow. Kun? This meeting went far better than he expected.

"Maa, of course not." He snapped the book shut and eye-smiled. "Naruto, why don't you go visit the Sandaime?" He turned his aloof smile to the blonde who looked uncertainly between the two. Finally, he nodded and beamed.

"Okay! I'll go visit Jiji!" He hesitated by the door and gazed wistfully at the Jounin. The gesture didn't go unnoticed.

"I'll come fetch you after I'm done." The blonde gave a sunny beam and ran to go visit his Jiji. Koharu turned her hard glare to the Jounin.

"Alright, Hatake-san, I've met him. Now, just what are you after?" The jounin smiled mysteriously, not revealing anything.

"Did you like him?" Koharu hesitated with her answer. God forbid she actually _admits_ she found the boy quite charming.

"He wasn't what I expected."

"He is quite surprising isn't he?" Kakashi's voice turned a tone cooler. Any lesser person would've froze at the iciness of it. "For a supposed _demon-brat." _Koharu sighed at the accusing glare.

"I'll admit I haven't been an avid supporter in the past. The Kyuubi is dangerous, it requires delicate handling..."

"Naruto _isn't _the Kyuubi." Koharu blinked at the ferocity of Kakashi's voice

"My, you are quite attached to the boy, aren't you?" Kakashi said nothing. "I do wonder why that is?"

"I _have_ been guarding him." Kakashi's eye couldn't have possibly got any colder. Koharu tried to resist the urge to smirk.

"He does look quite familiar, doesn't he? Has the Sandaime been keeping secrets?" Kakashi froze at the implications of her sly accusation. The only people who knew of Naruto's heritage were the Sandaime, a few on Minato's old friends and himself. He wanted to keep it that way, but it seems, with Naruto's blatant resemblance, it was going to be hard to keep.

"It seems you've worked something out by yourself." Koharu took this as a 'yes'. She sighed and rubbed her throbbing temples. The boy was becoming more and more quandary by the minute.

"Then he potentially can use the bloodline." She paused. "And he's a sensor. Not to mention his...tenant."

"So it seems. Keep it in mind that this is an S-class secret...punishable by death." Her head snapped up to look Kakashi in the eye. He was frustratingly passive.

"Just _what_ are you after?"

"I want to train him." She froze.

"Absolutely not." She answered out of habit. _Though, _she wondered, _what would be so bad about it?_

"May I ask, why the _hell_ not?" Kakashi was furious, Koharu could tell that much. When his voice held tightly controlled fury, he was his most dangerous. She knew from experience, his father was the same.

"What if the Kyuubi got out of control?"

"I won't allow it. I'll be careful." Koharu sighed.

"I have no doubt you'd be careful, but..." Her voice was doubtful, Kakashi found her lack of faith infuriating.

"Uzumaki's possess special Chakra. Minato chose Naruto for a reason." He paused. "Plus, his seal is a work of art. Surely you don't doubt the seal he gave his own life for?" Koharu would have usually kicked Kakashi out for his blatant disregard of authority, but she was not a woman who did not see reason. Kakashi was making valid points.

"No. No I do not."

"Kushina Uzumaki, the former Jinchuriki, once told me that the only way to overcome the Kyuubi's hate... is with love." He gave her a pointed look. "He needs this. He has no one. The council made very sure of that." The unfamiliar feeling of guilt arose in Koharu's heart. It wasn't as if she set out to make him miserable, but she sure damn well played her part.

"I have always tried to do the best for Kohona as a whole. If that meant protecting them from the Kyuubi, I would ruin one child's life for the good of the population."

"How very...noble of you." The tense atmosphere was broken by Koharu.

"So, what do you propose? How exactly would you train him?" Kakashi tried his hardest not to grin triumphantly. A small smirk, however, he could not help.

"Uzumaki's have unusually large Chakra reserves... Imagine a Ninjutsu master with additional tracking abilities. No, imagine a tracker with the _Hirashin_." Koharu and Kakashi tensed at the possibilities. "He might turn out to be as great as one of the Sannin."

"And he would not without your training?" Kakashi knew the implied question she was asking, _why him?_

"I have several reasons why I would be the best to train him, Koharu-sama." He paused and gave her a 'this is so obvious' look. "Do you really think the _all _of the academy teachers will treat him fairly? I mean no disrespect, but I can't put my faith in the entire faculty, there's bound to be a Naruto-hater involved. I won't tolerate his potential being stunted."

"Agreed." Koharu couldn't deny the fact. The academy instructors were just at the right age to feel the brunt of the hatred. Many had lost their parents in the Kyuubi attack. Some would be prejudiced, extremely so.

"I'm a tracker myself. Naruto has shown the ability to feel different Chakra signatures. You should know how useful this can be. With the addition of Ninken..." This caught Koharu's attention.

"You'd allow him to sign the Hatake contract?" Koharu asked in disbelief. Sure, he was fond of the child, but this was unheard of. He frowned slightly.

"I would let him if I could. Our summoning contract has to be signed with Hatake blood. We'll cross that path when we get there." He smirked. "I'm also close friends with the only three people in the village with any knowledge of the Hirashin, not to mention I'm the only one with knowledge of the Rasengan...well, until Jiraiya returns, and that could be years from now."

"I do have to admit...this is sounding extremely promising. What are your plans?"

"I'll teach him most nights after the academy, unless I'm on a mission. Though I want him to graduate at a normal pace, he's showing signs of being a genius already. He's just like his father."

"That I can't deny. Although he seems to have picked up his mother's famous cooking prowess." Kushina's cooking ability had been famous throughout Kohona; she'd cooked for a stall on New Years. It had been, by far, the most popular stall to date. Kakashi eye-smiled and nodded.

"I'm guessing you liked the cake?"

"Indeed, I did. Alright, Hatake-san, what do you want me to do?" Kakashi sighed and gazed impassively out the window.

"Everything concerning Naruto is dealt within the council. I can get the clan votes, I already have the Hokage's vote, I'm respected by the Jounin and ANBU's representatives, but I also need your vote."

"You seem to have a lot of support already. Why would you need me?" She shuffled her paperwork, already knowing the answer.

"The civilian council are ignorant, but their vote hardly matters. It's Danzo I'm worried about. He would want to train Naruto himself." He knew he was treading dangerously. Koharu sympathised with the old war hawk.

"Why would that be a problem?" She stood up for her old friend, but the doubt was already flowering in her heart. Kakashi gaze grew icy once again.

"Naruto needs companionship and positive training, _not_ to be turned into some sort of emotionless weapon. Not only would Kushina hound both me and you in the afterlife, he simply won't respond to that sort of treatment. He's far too gentle." Koharu cracked an uncharacteristic smile at the mention of the 'Red-Hot Habanero.' She had been a prominent Kohona Kunoichi; it was quite hard _not_ to notice her. "And it's inhumane. You like him, don't you Koharu? His smiles are infectious." He paused for effect. "Imagine him _never smiling again."_

"Alright Kakashi, you've made your point." Her next words carried the news he'd been hoping for. "You and Naruto have my support."


	2. Chapter 2: But, you're so girly!

**Namikaze Tensai**

When life hands you a Mini-Yondaime, what do you do? Train him, of course! Smart!Naruto, Minato-like!Naruto, Strong!Naruto.

**EDITED:** 17 August 2012

Thank you so much for all the reviews! I make sure to take everyone's opinions into consideration!

**Pairing poll is on my profile! I forgot to put GEN as an option though, what would you prefer?**

I'm glad you all liked Naruto's cooking skills! I thought it was cute too:D

A/N: I understand Yuugau would probably _not_ represent ANBU, she's too young, but there's no one else listed in Kohona's ANBU, and I didn't really feel like making an OC.

Also, I know Naruto only has a one room apartment, but for this story's sake, let's say he has a kitchen separate ^^

Don't forget to review! :D I'd like to know your thoughts and feelings!

Thank you for reading!

* * *

**Chapter Two- But you're so girly!**

* * *

"Does everyone know why we're here today?" Hiruzen asked. The council were unusually subdued, whilst the aged Hokage felt _powerful_. Since the start of his second reign, the council's influence had grown. Today's meeting, however, felt far different. Not only did he have a large hefty amount of supporters, he finally had the chance to see his old rival, and thorn in his side, put in his place. Finally, Hiruzen could see the old, decrepit war-hawk defeated.

"If we knew why we were here, Hiruzen, we would already be _discussing_ the matter." Danzo turned his sharp gaze to the Hokage. His blatant insubordination made many in the room tighten their fists in irritation. Hiruzen resisted the urge to smirk.

"Indeed, we would be, Danzo. Alright, we're here to discuss certain matters concerning the boy, Naruto Uzumaki." As expected, the civilian council immediately voiced their concerns.

"_That_ boy? Is there a problem with the seal?" Hiruzen winced at the fearful tone. The civilian councils were quite ignorant, which was quite an annoyance when running a Shinobi village. Civilian councillors were elected, a mistake on Hiruzen's part. Therefore, as expected, the current councillors were rich aristocrats, though not necessarily unintelligent, far too caught up in their comfortable civilian lifestyle. Civilians, having no knowledge of how Fuuinjutsu works, saw the boy as a ticking time-bomb. Hiruzen supposed he could forgive them for this, the ninja who should know better, however, never failed to utterly disappoint him.

"No. There is no problem with the Kyuubi." Hiruzen assured. A few mutters of confusion ran through the room. A considerable amount of the figures just waited patiently. They knew what the Hokage wanted to discuss. Kakashi Hatake, the famous copy-nin, had already confronted them with the matter.

The Jounin and ANBU representatives had been unusually easy to persuade. Yuugao Uzuki, only recently promoted to council representative, was an old teammate. She also harboured no ill feelings towards the Kyuubi container, being not only fairly adept with Fuuinjutsu herself, but oddly kind-hearted for an ANBU. Shikaku Nara was again, an old friend of his Sensei's, and the Jounin commander. He held two seats on the council, acting as the clan head as well as the leader of Kohona's shinobi. His friends, Chouza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka and Tsume Inuzuka, had all been at the bar Kakashi frequented, thus leading to an unusual, but productive meeting. In fact, Kakashi could almost say they were pro-Uzumaki; they supported him wholeheartedly. At first, they had been neutral, but when the copy-nin hinted towards his parentage, all four of the clan heads had expressed several notions of guilt and protectiveness towards the young Namikaze heir. In fact, Tsume's words were; 'If the old geezer tries anything, I'll rip his throat out. With my teeth.' Since the Inuzuka matriarch was quite an overbearing, and frankly, a frightening figure, Kakashi found that he didn't doubt the woman. Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to speak to the Uchiha or Hyuuga clan heads; although that might have been because he disliked them...a lot. Luckily, Hiashi had failed to attend the meeting.

"Kakashi Hatake has requested permission to train the boy." Hiruzen stated, waiting with baited breath for the council's reactions. Sounds of protests ran across the room almost immediately. "Is anyone opposed to this course of action?" As expected, a civilian spoke up first.

"With all due respect, I have nothing against the boy, but we can't allow _it_ to get stronger! It's too dangerous! What if it _turns_ on us?" Hiruzen barely reigned in his killing intent, his surrogate grandson being referred to as a danger did not sit well with him. Yuugao frowned at the middle-aged, affluent shop owner.

"I have no qualms with the boy being trained. If the civilians would care to listen, they would understand the strength of his seal...which has already been discussed many times. As usual, they fail to get past their own fears. The lack of faith really is quite disappointing." The civilians made sounds of indignation; Yuugao's chiding was intended to make them feel foolish; they didn't like that one bit. Hiruzen allowed a ghost of a smile to cross his face; he scarcely heard support the blonde. His eyes lingered on Danzo's crippled form, puzzled at his silence.

"Even so, why should the kid get special treatment? He's attending the academy next year, is he not?" The most intelligent civilian spoke next, an elder man who preferred to listen than speak.

"Naruto has recently been discovered as a sensor." Hiruzen offered, the civilian nodded respectfully at his superior. "Such individual abilities are not nurtured in the academy. An expert sensor would be _very_ beneficial for Kohona."

"All the more reason for me to train him, Hiruzen." The war-hawk eyed Hiruzen gleefully, he reminded him of a magpie who'd seen a very shiny trinket. Unfortunately for Danzo, he wasn't going to be able to steal _this_ particular gem.

"Oh? And why is that, Danzo?" The council grew quiet as the tension exploded between the two men.

"You, in all your wisdom, forget that Uzumaki is a _Jinchuriki, _of the Kyuubi no less, the strongest Bijuu. You're letting a weapon go to waste. Allow _me_ to nurture him into a fine shinobi."

"Nurture him? Or forcefully take away his innocence and turn him into an emotionless weapon?"

"That, my friend, is a matter of opinion." Hiruzen eyed the man distastefully. He was everything the Will of fire was _not._ How could his old rival have gone so wrong?

"I find your _opinion _inhumane." Hiruzen stated in a tone of finality. This just served to irritate Danzo further.

"You can't keep treating the Kyuubi like some sort of pet, Hiruzen. He needs to be trained properly."

"Naruto is not the Kyuubi, and he _will_ be trained, or have you forgotten the point of this meeting?" The civilian councillors gaped, wide-eyed at each of the men's killing intent; usually, they were far more composed, thus they had never felt the power of a Shinobi argument.

"Kakashi Hatake isn't qualified to instruct the Kyuubi." Hiruzen sighed and rubbed his temples, the man just _didn't listen._ How many times does one have to tell someone that a boy is not a demon?

Shikaku Nara, who has been silent throughout the entire exchange, decided it was high time to start the domino effect of supporters. "Why wouldn't one of our finest Shinobi be qualified to teach Uzumaki? Kakashi is one of my Jounin. He's one of the best, there's a reason why he's legendary." Danzo's eye narrowed slightly.

"The man is unreliable and unstable."

"If that's your argument, then I'd just like to add that _your_ last psyche evaluation was dreadful, Danzo." Inochi countered, smiling a little _too_ pleasantly. Being the former head of the T & I division had its perks; he knew every Kohona Shinobi's dirty little secrets. Danzo's sharp stare turned icy upon gazing at the blonde man, how dare he attack him personally? Inochi placed a hand on Tsume's shoulder to calm her down, although he was unaffected but the man's shrewdness, his hot-headed friend was seething.

"I..." Danzo was interrupted by the Sandaime. He'd had quite enough of the nonsense.

"That's enough! I expected debate over this matter to be fair and civilised, but apparently that was far too much to ask for." He looked pointedly at Danzo. "All in favour of Kakashi Hatake privately tutoring Naruto Uzumaki, raise your hands."

Surprisingly, the elder civilian put his hand up. "I've heard that young Shinobi are trained by their families anyway, he is an orphan, is he not? It would just be balancing the amount of experience he has before entering the academy. I see no harm, I'm not afraid of the boy." The two other civilians blinked in surprise at their companion before their fingers started to twitch indecisively, but they did not raise their hands.

It was not surprising when Shikaku, Inoichi and Tsume placed their hands in the air. However, the clan head they were expecting to vehemently disagree over the choice of tutor, also voted in Naruto's favour. The three clan head's turned to Fugaku in bewilderment. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I dislike Hatake, but a sensor is useful." Although he had no idea of the boy's heritage, he'd placed an adoption offer for the boy before it was denied. He trusted his friend's sealing techniques and honoured his legacy. How could he deny an opportunity to a boy that could've been his son? Or even worse, let him fall in Danzo's hands? He hated Danzo far more than Kakashi, which was surprising because he really _loathed_ Kakashi Hatake.

None of the hands raised were as shocking as Koharu's. Homura blinked in surprise at his female partner. He'd been under the impression they were to support Danzo about the Uzumaki matter. He was an independent individual however, he could see the Hatake's request being fruitful, but he was reluctant to upset his old acquaintance. Danzo was informed of some very... delicate information. The council stared expectantly at her for an explanation. Koharu was not cowardly in the slightest, and therefore she decided to speak her thoughts rather bluntly, much to Danzo's vexation.

"I've met the boy. He's a positive character and would only respond to a caring instructor. In any case, Danzo, as much as I admire your strength and your intentions, I do not believe you would be able to bring out Uzumaki's full potential. Kakashi Hatake is already quite close to the boy and therefore, he has the advantage. Hatake is not only a qualified tracker-nin, he's one of the best. His plan's for the boy are promising and I support them whole-heartedly." As Koharu spoke strongly and without uncertainty, Hiruzen almost dropped his pipe. Just what the hell did Kakashi say to the woman to produce _this?_ _Reminded to self; speak to Kakashi. Obviously, I'm missing something._ He thought about this for a moment. _It's probably the mask. Women just seem to love his mask...perhaps I should get one for myself? _He visualised himself 'Kakashi-ised.' _Perhaps not, dreadful. Absolutely dreadful._

"That would be eight hands to four. Kakashi's request is hereby accepted." He glanced at the Pro-Uzumaki's with a slightly warm expression. "Dismissed."

As the meeting was adjourned, some left chattering amongst each other and some left in silence. However, none of them exited the room quite like Danzo.

"Koharu, I thought we had an agreement_?_" He stoically seethed at the comrade. She eyed the lack of composure in his eye distastefully. Who knew the crippled war-hawk was such a sore loser?

"I was expression my views, Danzo. I believe that is why we have these meetings, is it not?"

"You know full well the boy's skill would flourish under my tutelage."

"On many matters I agree with you, Danzo, but this is not one of them."

"Koharu..." Hiruzen cut in before Danzo could start threatening his former teammate. Although they had grown apart, teammates had a special bond that could never fully break. Thus, he was quite protective of Homura and Koharu, even when they were being cynical scrooges.

"Cut your losses Danzo. Uzumaki will never be yours to ostracise from civilisation." Without further ado, Hiruzen and Koharu made their way out of the councillor's hall. Danzo's eye bored into their backs. He couldn't help but feel the stemming of betrayal in his heart- his put his body and soul into Kohona's well-being, if they could stop being so _difficult, t_hen Kohona could become the greatest source of power in the _world. No matter, _he thought. _They'll see their mistakes soon enough._

* * *

The first thing Kakashi noticed when he entered Naruto's apartment, via the window, was the mouth-watering smell. The last time he could recollect a smell as delicious and tantalising was the last night he spent with at his sensei's house, therefore being the last time he'd had the pleasure to eat some of Kushina's cooking. He smiled brightly and gripped the package in his hand; it looks like his present was going to be put to good use. As he made his way over to the boy's kitchen, he noticed how bare the room looked. He reminded himself to try and remedy that.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted the small blonde jovially, his hand up in greeting. Surprisingly, the blonde didn't jump.

"Hiya Kakashi! Are ya' hungry? I made more food!" Naruto greeted his new friend with a happy smile. All the doubts Kakashi had been having over being the boy's mentor suddenly vanished.

Naruto made him happy; the blonde had a certain aura that put you at ease. The last time Kakashi had been this happy was when Minato had dragged him out of his old house, kicking and screaming, and made him live with him. Truly, Kakashi acknowledged that he had severe emotional problems. His father's death had devastated him in such a way that he emotionally shut down. Obito, the idiot, the _amazing_ idiot, had been the one to completely destroy his beloved shell... with his death. Unfortunately, with his new found emotions, came the fact that he was in pain and ridiculously vulnerable. Not only did he have inferiority problems, trust issues and was completely socially inept, he then had to deal with the deaths of his most precious people. After the Kyuubi attack, it was a well known fact he completely broke down and put all his effort into his ANBU career. For over four years he'd stunted his healing, until he was made to watch over Naruto, the boy reminded him that life is precious. Unlike Naruto, it was him who was ruining his own life. He was unworthy of the opportunities Naruto didn't have.

It was a slow process, but slowly Kakashi was gaining some sort of a social life. He went out with Asuma drinking, hell, he even humoured Gai with his ridiculous challenges. But still, he completely doubted his ability to care for a child. For Naruto, he was going to be, essentially, was Minato was to him. That's what scared him. He relied on Minato so completely and cared for him so deeply, he was afraid of representing the same meaning to Naruto. Minato had completely shaped and re-formed his life; he'd been an amazing person. He'd been warm, kind, and although it pains him to say it, and nothing could fill his place, a far better father figure than his dad had ever been. Kakashi, on the other hand, was emotionally awkward and had several questionable characteristics. He was stand-offish and was clueless on how to act around a child, not having much of a childhood himself. But, seeing Naruto's smiled seemed to boost his confidence. The kid seemed to like him, so why the hell not give it a try? What could possibly be the worst case scenario...apart from ruining his life? _Oh...shit!_

"Ano...Kakashi?" The copy-nin blinked and was suddenly aware of the tiny boy, barely passing his knee, staring up at him in concern. "You okay? You went all spacey."

"Maa, I'm fine! Just daydreaming." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "So, what're we having?" It was at this point he noticed that there were the perfect amount of ingredients for two, and Naruto had already been cooking before he came in. "You sensed me, hm?"

"Yup!" Naruto nodded eagerly. "I felt you around and made some just in case." He blushed down at the sauce his was stirring. "I usually don't have anyone...well, eating with me that often, so I made some good stuff." Kakashi nodded and smiled underneath his mask. _Translation:_ _You're the first person to have dinner at my house. Please like it, or I may cry. Oh, by the way, I'm using my best, expensive ingredients. So you better appreciate it, because buying groceries takes up most of my monthly money._

"Well, it certainly smells good." The praise made Naruto beam.  
"Thank you! Hope you like Yakisoba!" He rambled good-naturedly. He loved to talk and it was quite nice actually having a recipient for his conversation.

"Sounds good." Kakashi sat himself down at the small table and set the present in front of him. Ten minutes later, a luscious-looking dish was set out in front of him. He mentally thanked Kushina for reproducing.

"Itadakimasu!" The blonde cheerfully gripped his chopsticks and began eating. Kakashi eyed the boy in surprise; even his eating mannerisms were the same as his sensei. He daintily took small bites but ate them in quick succession. It was nostalgic. Kakashi shrugged and took his first bite; his taste buds promptly went haywire with delight.

"Naruto, if you keep cooking like this, I might have to come back every day." Kakashi deadpanned. _I definitely made the right choice when buying his present._

"Ano...maybe not every day, you take up too much of my food!" The blonde scowled playfully and muttered something under his breath; it was along the lines of 'stupid tall people!'

"Hmm, what if I bought the groceries?" Kakashi offered. Naruto blinked and surprise and then grinned with happiness.

"Well...if you really wanted to, then sure!" Naruto started to stuff his face to hide his shy blush. Having regular company for dinner seemed almost too good to be true. Kakashi chuckled.

"Cute." Naruto scowled at Kakashi, who just grinned in return. They both finished their meal in a comfortable silence, Kakashi savoured each bite. "I got you a birthday present, I'm sorry it's late." Kakashi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Here it is." He pushed the medium sized package toward Naruto's side of the table. The blonde's blue eyes twinkled with a stunned delight.

"You got me something?" Naruto picked up the package gingerly. "You didn't have to..." He felt slightly tearful, it showed in his eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing really. Just open it." Kakashi felt only slightly uncomfortable. If he knew Naruto was going to act so strongly, he would've splashed out for a better gift. He smiled at the sight of the boy as he carefully opened the package, the blonde was too cute. It still stunned him to see how much he looked like his sensei; they had the same delicate facial features, in fact, he would say the only thing he inherited from Kushina was perhaps his jaw line.

"Oh, wow! This is amazing!" Naruto picked up and studied the items excitably. Kakashi had given him a new cookbook and some baking utensils. His favourite were the silicon cupcake trays; they were in pretty colours. "Thank you, Kakashi!" He grinned at his idol, the man eye-smiled in return.

"You're welcome, Naruto-chan. 'You ready for the next present?" The blonde gaped incredulously.

"There's _two?"_

"Mmm, there is. I have a feeling you'll like this one more." Naruto was practically jumping in excitement. Better than pretty trays? This was going to be _awesome._

"I'm ready, I'm ready! What is it?"

"Maa, you're excitable. Well, how would you like me to be your sensei?"

"You..." The blonde shook his head in bewilderment. "My...sensei?"

"Mhm. I'd be teaching you outside of the academy." Pure, wholesome happiness burst throughout Naruto's being.

"You want to be my sensei?" Naruto's smiled grew impossibly wide when Kakashi nodded. "Yeah! That's would be awesome, Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi eye-smiled at the boy's enthusiasm; _Kakash-sensei, I think I like that._ "So what would I be learning?" Naruto wouldn't have cared if the man taught him how to milk a cow, the fact that he _wanted_ to be _his_ sensei was possibly the greatest thing to happen to him. It was, undoubtedly, the best birthday present he'd ever obtained.

"I'll teach you the academy basics first." Kakashi looked smug. _I'll teach him well, Minato-sensei. I think I definitely have first place material. _"Then we'll evolve your sensor skills. Oh- that reminds me, I have something to show you!" Naruto was instantly interested; he hung off every word Kakashi uttered.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Again, the small little feeling on contentment ran through both of them at the title.

Kakashi bit his thumb, producing small beads of blood, he then slammed his palm on the ground and several markings spiralled out from beneath it. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto blinked in surprise as a small brown dog appeared from the small cloud of smoke.

"Yo." Pakkun greeted his summoner unenthusiastically. He blinked in surprise at his surroundings, and the small blond haired boy gaping at him in amazement. "Who's the brat?"

"You...you can talk! A talking dog!" Pakkun rolled his eyes.

"You're very observant." Kakashi chuckled at his favourite Ninken. He was so wonderfully blunt.

"Now now, Pakkun, be nice. This is Naruto, my new student. Naruto, this is Pakkun, one of my Ninken."

"Hello Pakkun." Naruto greeted shyly, Pakkun nodded in response. "Um...Ninken?"

"Aaa, a Ninken is a ninja dog. I've signed a summoning contract, but I raised my Ninken myself. The Inuzuka, one of the main clans in Kohona, if you haven't heard of them, usually have a familiar who says with them permanently." Pakkun nodded and looked at Kakashi with tired eyes.

"I prefer the summoning contract myself- couldn't put up with this idiot twenty-four-seven." Naruto giggled which made Pakkun smile. _Cute kid._

"You're funny. So, what do ninja dogs do?" Naruto asked curiously. He knew he shouldn't judge by appearances, but the small, cute, little pug didn't exactly look like he could put up much of a fight. Pakkun smirked.

"What can't I do? I can track, talk, walk on water, _and _I have exceptionally soft, pink pads. I'll even allow you to feel them, only since your Kakashi's pup and all." Kakashi had the decency to blush at this. _My pup indeed._

"Pakkun primarily tracks, as you can see, he's not a battle summon due to his size, although he's pretty vicious when he needs to be." Pakkun glared at Kakashi.

"I may be small, but I can take anyone on! Annoying." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"It's okay, people call me small too." Naruto offered; he agreed, it was irritating. Pakkun deadpanned at the boy.

"You _are_ small." Naruto made a noise of indignation.

"Hey! I'm only six; I'll have my growth spurt soon!" Pakkun rolled his eyes. The kid looked four, he was tiny.

"Sure you will." Pakkun's sarcastic tone made Naruto scowl. Kakashi chuckled awkwardly and picked Pakkun up by the scruff.

"Alright, enough of that, stop antagonising my student." Pakkun rolled his eyes and jumped from Kakashi's hands and on to the table.

"An..tagonisang?" Naruto asked, his pronunciation was slightly miscued. Kakashi eye-smiled at the boy's inquisitive nature.

"It means to provoke, irritate, rile up, upset." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry kid. Here, feel my paws. It's my apology." Naruto quirked a brow at the odd request but complied anyway. He smiled gently in delight as he felt the cute pink paw.

"...Soft." Pakkun decided right then that he definitely liked the kid; no one had fully appreciated his amazing paws before. It was a crime.

"Yep, those are quality paws. Anyway, since I'm assuming you don't need me, I'm off for a nap. Bye Kakashi, Naruto." As Kakashi nodded and Naruto waved, Pakkun disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"Okay, I showed you Pakkun because he'll be helping us improve your tracking skills. Perhaps you'd even find your own Ninken beneficial to you, but that's completely you choice when you're older." The small blonde nodded in understanding and beamed.

"Awesome! How old do you have to be to get a Ninken, Kakashi-sensei?" The copy-nin shrugged.

"When I feel you're old enough." Kakashi checked his watch whilst Naruto frowned at the vague answer. "We should go get some supplies before we train. You'd ruin that in less than five minutes." He gestured towards the flimsy long-sleeved tee and cargo pants.

"Ano...I'm running kinda' low on money right now." Naruto frowned and made an effort to look at his feet. He felt embarrassed about is economic situation, something he hadn't wanted to do in front of Kakashi. The copy-nin scoffed.

"Right, like I'd make you pay for training gear. I'm technically your guardian, you know." Naruto's head snapped up at the word 'guardian.' He'd been starved of a parental figure for so long, he hadn't known what to expect. He found himself beaming as he followed his idol out the door. He locked it quickly behind him and pulled on a coat.

Kakashi decided to fill him in on a few academy basics as they walked to his favourite store. Naruto absorbed all the information about the five great nations, the hidden villages and the definition of Chakra quickly, although he believed Chakra was a lot more complex then the academy definition. They reached Kakashi's favourite store around half an hour before closing time, meaning the usually hectic shop was completely empty. Kakashi hadn't intended on this, but mentally noted that shopping whilst there were no villagers was beneficial, at least, for now. Naruto became far more self-conscious from the icy glares of the villagers, and especially nervous in crowds; their shopping trip wouldn't have been nearly as productive if they went in midday.

"Hello there, Kakashi-san! It's been a while." Jiashi Ama, a handsome, middle-aged man greeted the pair. Naruto noted that he had kind, brown eyes and smiled shyly from behind Kakashi's pant leg. Kakashi was wary of the man when he set his sight on Naruto; when his eyes had narrowed in recognition, Kakashi had feared the man would cause some trouble. He was only slightly surprised when the man beamed at his new student and bent down to greet him; Jiashi was a pleasant man after all. He was also a retired Shinobi, apparently assisting in making him far more tolerant than others. He treated Naruto the same as any other child he saw, if not just a tad kinder.

"Hi! What's your name?" Naruto blinked in surprise. He was almost confused of the absence of hate, but decided it was a good thing.

"Aaa, I'm Naruto Uzumaki..." He looked at the man's name tag. "Jiashi-san."

"Well then, Naruto-chan, what do ya' need?" Jiashi stood up and grabbed a shopping basket. He loved kids, having seven year-old daughter of his own in her first year of the academy. Naruto looked up at Kakashi to answer for him; he didn't have a clue as to what he needed.

"Aaa, if you could just grab some school supplies for us, Jiashi-san, we'll be heading over to the clothes. Naruto's my new apprentice." Jiashi was momentarily shocked at the grey-haired man having an apprentice, especially the Uzumaki child, but brushed it off quickly. It was rude to stare.

"Ah, of course!" He smiled and nodded. "Are you going to the academy next year, Naruto-chan?" The small blonde nodded eagerly. He'd been starting in September, so he had plenty of time to get really good before he went.

"I have a daughter in her first year, come back some other time and I'll introduce you!" He respected the blonde child for carrying such a heavy burden, besides, if Kakashi was allowed to take as an apprentice, he couldn't be bad. He was so polite and cute too; Jiashi didn't fear or dislike the boy at all. Naruto nodded dumbly in surprise, all this positive treatment was confusing the poor boy. Jiashi beamed and quickly moved to grab his school supplies, in which Kakashi would be teaching him history and theory, and followed his new sensei over to the clothing section. The copy-nin knew the boy's favourite colours were predominantly blue and orange, so he grabbed a few deep blue, standard Shinobi-style pants.

Appearances weren't going to be especially important, but he grabbed some high quality, temperature sensitive sweatshirts; not only were they practical, the seals on the shirt's making it so you could wear them from summer to winter, the cerulean blue with orange stitching look very attractive. Kakashi couldn't help but notice that the blue made the boy's colouring look ethereal, almost as if he belonged in the ocean. The new training clothes were infinitely better than his loose hand-me-downs; Kakashi shrugged and grabbed some navy mesh for the boy. It wasn't as if he was low on money; being the last of his clan, the Hatake reserves were basically bottomless. It was a bittersweet pleasure, he'd much prefer his father over money, but he decided not to think about that. He refused to get depressed whilst spending quality time with his new student. Naruto offered a few opinions here and there on clothing choices before they left the store with three big bags of clothing and supplies. Kakashi ended up buying some blunted Kunai and Shuriken as well; it was never too soon to start target practice. He, after all, graduated when he was five.

As they walked out the shop and onto the lantern-illuminated street, Kakashi saw a familiar face. He'd hoped to pass the genius child without recognition, but unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky.

"Hello, Hatake-senpai." Itachi greeted the former-ANBU respectfully. Although his father loathed the man, he held a lot of respect for his former team leader. The little boy holding his hand blinked confusedly at the new face.

"Aaa, Itachi. How are you?" Kakashi drawled. The young genius slightly unnerved him; the boy was pleasant enough, but that was it, he felt like a shell; although, with a bastard of father like Fugaku, he couldn't exactly blame him. He did smile slightly when he saw the blatant affection he held for his younger brother.

"I'm fine, thank you, Hatake-senpai. I was just taking a walk with my Otouto. Say hello, Sasuke." The raven-haired boy blinked before smiling pleasantly and bowing to the man with strange hair. If he was a friend of Itachi's, he must be super cool.

"Hello!" He greeted pleasantly. Itachi nodded in approval and his gaze moved from his Senpai to the small blonde boy standing awkwardly to his side. He recognised him immediately as Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi container. He knew he'd potentially been his brother, but never before took an avid interest in the boy. Itachi was slightly caught off-guard with how angelic the boy looked, his features were so delicate, it was almost unfathomable as to the fact he held one of the supposed, single-most malevolent entities in the entire world.

"Kakashi-senpai, who's your friend?" Of course, he knew who he was, but the reason why he was apparently shopping with the infamous copy-nin was curious.

"Aaa, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He's my student." Kakashi smiled and patted the boy's head fondly. Itachi blinked in surprise. That was unexpected.

"Oh. Since when?" Kakashi tapped his chin in thought.

"Oh,I don't know, I guess a few hours ago?" Itachi smiled slightly at this. The man always seemed so aloof.

"Aah, I see. Naruto, this my brother Sasuke- you two are the same age, if I'm not mistaken."

The two boys regarded each other curiously. Naruto thought this 'Sasuke' seemed nice enough, but he had weird hair. Not as weird as Kakashi-sensei, but it was still pretty spiky at the back . Sasuke on the other hand, thought Naruto was very pretty indeed.

"Oh, you're one of _those_ girls! My cousin's like you; she doesn't like wearing girly clothes either!" Sasuke smiled at the _girl_ in front of him. Naruto gaped in bewilderment; Kakashi tried to hold in his laughter unsuccessfully.

"_Nani?" _Sasuke frowned at the _girl's_ reaction.

"Uhh, you're a tomboy?" He cocked his head at the angry blonde. He didn't quite understand _her_ reaction. Was commenting on how _she_ dresses rude?

"I'm not a tomboy, _I'm a boy!"_ Naruto exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground for extra emphasis. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprised as he studied the blonde again.

"Nani? But you look so girly! You're all pretty and short!" By this time, Kakashi's shoulder's were shaking with suppressed laughter. This was rich. Itachi, on the other hand, was trying his hardest not to groan at his brother's failed first impression.

"I _do not_ look girly! You look girly!" Sasuke gasped and scowled at the boy. He did not look girly! He didn't have pretty, chin-length blonde hair _or_ sparkly, long-lashed blue eyes. He looked _manly_, his Mum said so!

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do _not!"_

"Do _too!" _As their volume increased, Itachi decided to step in.

"Alright, that's enough, Sasuke." The slightly taller, raven-haired boy scowled before nodding and stepping back. He always listened to his Aniki; because his Aniki was always right, and awesome, and amazing, even if it was annoying because his Dad liked him _way _more. "We have to go, perhaps Naruto would like to come over and train with Sasuke? They are entering the same year, after all." Itachi knew this was a long-shot, the boys, yes, boys, not boy and girl, did not seem to like each other, not at all. He was slightly shocked when Sasuke stopped scowling completely and grinned at the younger boy.

"Yeah! Come over and train!" He was excited over the prospect of having a new training-mate. Itachi was way too busy to train him and he didn't even have any friend his own age. Besides, he'd decided he kinda liked the pretty, blonde haired boy, even if he called him girly, when _he _was the girly one. It was obviously denial.

"Ano...okay." Naruto smiled shyly back at his new friend. At least, he guessed the pale boy was a new friend, even if the argued, he wasn't really angry. He decided he kinda liked the taller boy too, even if he thought he was a girl. It obviously meant the boy was stupid; he looked nothing like a girl! Besides, his was one of the first times he'd _ever_ spoken to a boy his own age, all the other times the parents had come over a dragged them away. He wasn't about to pass the chance of a new friend with a nice family. Also, both their Chakra's were really bright and strong, especially the older brother. He guessed this meant to boy with lines on his fact was really powerful, but he also felt a bit sad. Naruto decided he didn't like that. Sasuke beamed at his new blonde friend.

"Great! Come over really soon!" The grinned at each other before they parted, Kakashi said his goodbyes to Itachi. The grin held on Naruto's face as he followed the copy-nin back to his apartment.

_It was the start of one of the strongest, precious, yet most complicated bond Naruto ever forged._


	3. Chapter 3: Life lesson and Akimichi's!

**Namikaze Tensai**

When life hands you a Mini-Yondaime, what do you do? Train him, of course! Smart!Naruto, Minato-like!Naruto, Strong!Naruto.

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**Just a note for towards the end; children are over emotional. I just baby sat a six year old yesterday, she started crying because she pulled my hair. Naruto is no different. I'm not making him into a super bad-ass child murderer. He's a cute teensy blonde, so blah. We'll get to the baddass laters. ;)**

_This is pretty much a __**filler**__ chapter. The next chapter is plot-full and interesting with a notable time jump. Tehe._

Also, I'm making Naruto's childhood extremely detailed. I predict his childhood will last around 10 chapters, maybe more, maybe less. Sorry, but I wanted extremely slow development and realistic. There's so many stories where Naruto's sensei just goes straight into teaching him, for instance, rasengan, which is just...bleh in my opinion.

Naruto will _not be girly._ The only reason I wrote that meeting with Sasuke was because, firstly, I thought it was cute, and secondly, it draws comparisons to Kushina's first impression of Minato, further drawing attention to the fact they are similar. It also lays a pretty good foundation for several relationship types I could branch off with Sasuke. Oh yeah, my Naruto won't always be as huggy or as emotional as I portray him here, he's just a kid here, give him a break.

Warnings: Slowness, pointless info, FLUFF- I could throw up at the soppy parts. Anyway, enjoy!

**EDITED: 17th August 2012.**

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**Chapter Three: Life lesson and Akimichi's!**

**November 2****nd**

**Six Years Old**

* * *

Naruto was feeling the results of his training. Kakashi had been instructing him for just over two weeks, but he refused to teach him any Taijutsu until his physical condition was improved. The copy-nin hadn't realised how weak the blonde's muscles were due inactivity; now, however, he was proud to say the boy was in almost perfect health. Kakashi had taken to buying his groceries, and eating whatever the boy cooked, since it was always _delicious; _he'd also designed a regime that started at noon and ended just before a myriad of exercises, such as sit-ups, push-ups, laps, squats and swimming, Naruto had discovered that Kakashi, when motivated, was a rather ruthless instructor. Strangely, the blonde loved him for it. It kept him occupied and meant the Jounin was really dedicated to teaching him. He'd never had this kind of undivided attention; training was undeniably his favourite time of day.

"Alright, Naruto, that's enough." Kakashi eye-smiled warmly at the exhausted blonde; they really should have ended training half an hour ago, but just like his father before him, he was beginning to acquire the habit of training himself into the ground. Naruto nodded and grinned before dropping to the floor, entirely too tired to hold himself up. "Good work today, your health has definitely improved. Twenty consecutive laps; impressive for a six-year-old." Naruto beamed at the praise.

"Thanks, Kaka-sensei! I think I'll be ready for Taijutsu by next week."

"Maa, eager aren't you? Soon, perhaps..." Kakashi's eye's crinkled in affection. He was so glad the boy wasn't a brat; in fact, so far he'd been a dream to teach.

"Okay!" Naruto agreed, even though he desperately wanted to start _now_. He paused for a moment, remembering an earlier conversation with his sensei. "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, didn't you say something about a mission?" Naruto cocked his head to the side and looked at the man curiously. He'd been lucky so far, Kakashi hadn't had a mission since he'd been declared his sensei, but he knew it would have to end sometime. The copy-nin scratched the back of his head a chuckled sheepishly.

"Aaa, yeah, it's a long one." Naruto was visibly disheartened. "I won't be longer than a month, I promise."

"Bu you're _always_ late." The blonde pouted. It seems he'd gotten used to the most well known of Kakashi's quirks.

"I'm just entirely too helpful, it's a curse."

"Yeah, right." Naruto deadpanned. "I don't believe any of your excuses _at all. _" Kakashi put his hand over his heart in mock-hurt.

"It hurts to have my student have so little faith in me."

"Don't be so melodramatic."

"How do you even know what melodramatic means?" Naruto smirked.

"Pakkun told me."

"Shitty Ninken, damn prodigies." Kakashi muttered; Naruto's smirk grew wider.

"You said a bad word; you have to put a coin in the jar!" Naruto exclaimed, referring to the jar he kept his ramen fund in. Kakashi rolled his eyes at his student, but it was an affectionate gesture. Over the weeks with Kakashi, Naruto had come out of his shell. Although the boy still got nervous in crowds, and didn't venture into the village centre regularly, around his sensei he was pretty mischievous. Naruto surprised Kakashi sometimes with his wit; he emitted things one wouldn't expect from a child, he was far more intelligent than the average six year old. After buying Naruto's supplies, they'd gotten the boy a library card. The blonde had taken to reading in his spare time, anything from Kohona's history to adventure. He'd also checked out a number of academy books, working on the first semester's curriculum. Naruto desperately wanted to impress.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, if we keep training like this, do you think I'll graduate early?" Kakashi glanced at his student and shook his head.

"I have no doubt you could, Naruto, but I wouldn't recommend it." Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion; wouldn't passing early be a good thing?

"Why's that, Sensei?"

"Graduating early puts a lot of pressure on the graduate, not to mention you have a higher chance of fatality. The academy system is flawed, you can pass with intellect alone, but if you were to go into the field with a weak body, you wouldn't stand a chance. No, I'd say it is best to wait until the normal graduating age. Trust me on this, I know." Naruto, who had been listening intently like normal, nodded in understanding, but being a curious boy, decided to question Kakashi anyway.

"Itachi Uchiha graduated when he was seven. Was that bad?" Naruto queried; referring to the stoic older brother of his new friend. He'd yet to actually meet them for training, due to the busy Uchiha schedules, but Naruto felt like he should at least know a little about his new friends before he met with them, especially since Itachi called his sensei, 'sempai.' Itachi's record was, according the Kakashi, far more than impressive. He was a prodigy among prodigies, and whilst Naruto thought it was seriously cool, felt a little nervous to be around him; he knew this was irrational, since he was Kohona-nin and would never cause him deliberate harm. Sighing, he took to studying the Hatake training ground. It was a large, well equipped field with many trees and posts. It was a mystery to Naruto as to why the jounin didn't live in the house beyond the clearing, but when he'd asked, Kakashi just became quiet. He'd mentally put the subject in the 'off-limits' section.

"Itachi... well, I'm just going to say, I wouldn't put him as... normal. He's exceedingly loyal to the village, but he has more problems than even me. I'd definitely put it down to pressure." _Whether it's from ANBU or his seemingly clueless, power-hungry father, _Kakashi noted.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was that bad. What age did you graduate, Kakashi-sensei?" The Jounin chuckled sheepishly.

"Five." Naruto's eye's practically bulged out of his head.

"_What? _You were younger than me!"

"I hold the record." Kakashi informed the blonde without pride. For all his flaws, Kakashi was a pretty humble man. "But as I said before, it wasn't good for my health, if it wasn't for my sensei..." Naruto smiled at his sensei in adoration. His idol was just getting better and better, even if he was chronically late.

"It's still awesome!" Naruto paused, thinking about Kakashi's last statement. "Who was _your_ sensei, sensei?" The question made Kakashi freeze, Naruto bit his lip as was about to put it in the 'off-limits' section, but thankfully the copy-nin answered.

"My sensei was Minato Namikaze." Naruto's jaw promptly fell open. He would recognise the name anywhere; the man was, after all, another one of his idols. "You might know him as the Yondaime."

"_No way_! You were trained by the _Yondaime?_ That's so awesome!" Kakashi smiled at the boy wistfully. It was nostalgic; he'd said the exact same thing when he'd learnt Minato was taught by a Sannin.

"Minato-sensei was awesome." The sad tone didn't slip by Naruto; it helped that his sensor abilities had branched into recognising certain emotions, an ability Kakashi said not to share with too many people. Apparently, some may find it unnerving.

"Kaka-sensei...are you okay?" Kakashi nodded and smiled at the empathetic child. The boy was incredibly sweet; he'd make any parent feel proud. And that's what Kakashi felt when he was constantly surprised by the boy; proud.

"Of course I am." He ruffled the blonde's fluffy locks and helped the boy up.

"Do you get sad when you think of him?" Kakashi pondered in how to answer this, any good Shinobi would say it was an honour to die for their village, and such sacrifice shouldn't provoke sadness, but Kakashi wasn't a good Shinobi; he was a realistic one.

"Yes, I get sad." He paused, thinking of his long dead friend, Obito. "Rule twenty-five of Kohona's Shinobi code dictates that ninja must never show emotion, but, as I've learnt the hard way, it's impossible. Dying for your village is an honour, but that doesn't stop me from feeling sad over the loss." Naruto nodded in understanding. He didn't like the notion of being emotionless either. The blonde eventually bit out the question on the top of his tongue, but knew immediately it would be part of the 'off-limits' section.

"...the hard way?" Kakashi froze and then sighed. After all these years, it was still painful thinking about his dead friend, but Obito had taught him his most important life-lesson, and it seemed it was time to start passing it on.

"Naruto-chan." Naruto snapped to attention at the affectionate honorific. Kakashi hadn't used a lot since he'd become his student. "My teammate Obito told me something I can never forget, before he... died. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who don't look after their comrades are worse than trash." He paused to look at the boy who was listening intently; Kakashi was showing a different side than his usual aloof persona, and it seemed to be very effective indeed. "Why are you training with me, Naruto? Why do you want to become a shinobi?" He knew a six-year old wouldn't know the answer this young, but it was never too early for life-lessons. The blonde's brows crumpled in thought, and then he blushed.

"I guess...I want to make you proud." He paused to smile. "And it's fun." Kakashi smiled warmly at the blonde. Kakashi had a feeling he would always be proud of his student; he hadn't understood why the Sandaime had failed to kill Orochimaru, but now he had a pretty good inkling.

"When you think of your goals, it helps to remember than you should always be fighting for the people you hold dearest...and the village." He added the last bit on reluctantly. The village wasn't exactly Naruto's favourite place, but he was helping it to get steadily getting better; he hoped Naruto wouldn't hold a grudge. Luckily, the blonde seemed incapable of hate.

"The people I hold dearest... I guess that would be you and Jiji." Naruto beamed at his most precious person. He didn't mind that the list was so short, because like always, Kakashi reminded him of one thing;

"Maa, just you wait until you have so many names, you won't be able to list them all." Kakashi ruffled the boy's hair once more and started to lead him away from the training grounds. He knew when Naruto eventually joined the academy, it would be difficult...but the blonde seemed to have a knack of making friends. If people were willing to see the boy, it was almost a guarantee they'd love him; unfortunately, Kohona housed far too many ignorant people. "Alright, enough of this... heavy conversation, you go home and get cleaned off. Meet me at Ichiraku's at five; I'll treat you for doing so well. Ja ne!" Again, Kakashi shunshin'd away, leaving only a pile of leaves on the wet grass, and like always, Naruto was amazed.

"Alright, Ramen!" The blonde wasted no time in rushing home, ramen was too good to be late for.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei...you're _early."_ Naruto stated incredulously. For over two weeks, for every meeting organised, he copy-nin had been at least two hours late. Therefore, Naruto thought he was safe to get ready leisurely and be down at Ichiraku's for six. Kakashi, however, seemed to have different plans when he arrived at his apartment half an hour early.

"Surprised?" Kakashi drawled, seemingly apathetic, but you could see the mirth flashing in his eyes. He _loved_ to mess with people; it was by far his favourite hobby. Naruto nodded slowly.

"Is there something wrong?" He looked out his window just to make sure the world wasn't ending. He'd _just_ started training, it really would be quite sad to die now. Kakashi chuckled at his reaction.

"No, no! Can't I just be excited to eat out with my favourite student?"

"I'm your _only _student." Naruto deadpanned.

"Aaa, _that_ would be why you're my favourite."

"So, I wouldn't be your favourite anyway?" Naruto puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. Kakashi just chuckled and ruffled his hair, another one of his habits Naruto deemed irritating. Secretly, though, he liked it.

"Well, since you're dressed, we might as well get going." Naruto blinked at the retreating figure and quickly shrugged a jacket and some shoes on. He glowered at his sensei; the man had just waltzed in, or climbed in (through the window), unannounced. If Naruto wasn't a sensor, he would've been given quite a fright at the strange man in his apartment whilst he was half naked, instead he was fully clothed and met the man with a death glare, not that it had any effect.

"Oi! Sensei, wait up!" He had to run to meet up with Kakashi's head start and lengthy strides, which seemed to give the man some amusement. Naruto was pretty sure he was walking swiftly just to spite him.

Kakashi Hatake was not happy. Not only was he to embark on a month- long mission at the start of his student's training, he was pretty sure he was being followed by ROOT, a supposedly 'dead' organisation founded by Danzo Shimura. What he hoped to gain by observing their training sessions, he did not know. What he did know, is that if he even approached the blonde ball of sunshine, Danzo was going to get a Chidori to the chest. Perhaps that would be _after_ Kakashi had severed his limbs. Kakashi shook his head and smiled smugly. Danzo ought to be jealous, but not because of the Kyuubi. The blonde had raw, natural talent, but also the motivation to train until he dropped; something most 'geniuses' lacked. If that wasn't enough, then the raw potency and yield of Naruto's Chakra ought to do the trick.

"Yo, Kakashi!" The copy-nin could smell the draft of cigarette smoke drifting his way; he didn't even have to look up to know who was approaching him. Asuma Sarotobi, estranged son of the Sandaime, waved cheerfully at his friend. It was only a year ago he left the Daimyo's service, but it had been particularly difficult to become reacquainted with his old friends after a five year leave. Kakashi, who he hadn't even been particularly close to in his childhood, most likely due to the fact he thought he was an arrogant bastard, had been merrily riding in the same boat. Thus, they became drinking partners, and now quite close friends.

"Asuma." Kakashi nodded and eye-smiled at his ruggedly handsome friend; Asuma's shoulders were far broader than Kakashi's own; he was more built than Kakashi's toned, lithe form. The chestnut brown hair thrown over his face in casual disarray, and the dark stubble which promised to grow into a relatively handsome beard made him look rather dashing, in a bear-like fashion. "You just got back?"

"Yeah, just last night." Asuma nodded, referring to his two month long mission. It was the longest he'd had since he returned, he thanked the heavens it was successful. No causalities, bar a couple of his teammate's fingers, but it could have been worse. He blinked in surprise at the sight of the small blonde unconsciously clinging onto Kakashi's pant leg. It was then that he noticed his Icha Icha disguised in a Chakra control manual. _Interesting. _"Hey, Kakashi, who's the chibi?"

"Hm? Oh, right. This is Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice_." _Kakashi's voice came out in his usual lazy drawl, but his eyes were sharp as they regarded his friend's reaction. Asuma's eyes widened in surprise at the infamous name of the Kyuubi container; due to his service in the Twelve Guardian Ninja, he'd yet the catch sight of the village pariah, until now. His gaze flickered to the blonde who smiled timidly up at him. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when the man grinned at him and held out a 'thumbs-up' to his Sensei.

"Cool! Nice to know you got something to care about other then porn." Asuma chuckled. Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion; it was frustrating to not be able to follow a conversation.

"What's porn?" Kakashi groaned at the blonde's innocent questioning and glowered darkly at Asuma.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with, Naruto." He turned his sharp gaze to Asuma. The man laughed nervously, he'd forgotten just how scary the silver-haired prodigy could be. "Isn't that right?"

"Ah, yeah, totally uninteresting." He nodded eagerly. Naruto just raised an eyebrow in confusion and decided that old men were weird.

"M'kay, whatever." Naruto shrugged and tugged on his sensei's pant leg. "Kaka-sensei, d'ya wanna' invite your friend to Ichiraku's?" Asuma grinned at the child's thoughtfulness and cut in.

"Actually, a bunch of us are meeting at Akimichi's, you two want ta' come?" He gave Kakashi as lopsided grin. "I bet they'd love to meet the kid."

"Maa, I wouldn't want to intrude." Asuma took this as an excuse for not socialising.

"The more the merrier." Kakashi held in the urge to groan at Asuma's unrelenting grin. He hated outings with large groups, and he knew for a fact Naruto felt the same. He cast a sideways glance at the blonde over the top of his book and sighed; he was worried about Naruto's social skills. The blonde was doing fine as he was, but if his only interaction was with the copy-nin himself, he feared Naruto would start to mimic his personality. He didn't like that notion at all, one Kakashi was enough.

"Who's going?"

"Kurenai." Kakashi didn't miss the flicker of affection in Asuma's eyes. He inwardly smirked. "And her crazy friend Anko, you know the one. Genma's coming along too, but Raido's sick with the flu. Oh, Hayate and Yuugao were coming too, but they cancelled... did you know they were_ together?_"

"Maa, took them long enough." Although Kakashi was seemingly uninterested, with his face practically connected to his porn, Asuma knew he was pleased to hear of his friend's happiness. Naruto's eyes flitted between the two, he felt left out of the conversation, and he didn't like it one bit.

"Ano...Kaka-sensei? Are we going?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice betrayed his underlying feelings of nervousness. Kakashi glanced at him over his book.

"Do you want to?" Naruto wasn't sure on how to answer that. On one hand, he was going to give up ramen, his _beloved_ ramen, to meet with people who could potentially hate him. If he wasn't nervous about meeting his sensei's friends, then the fact he's never eaten in any other restaurant other than Ichiraku's _did_. On the other hand, he didn't want to stop his sensei from having fun with his friends, and they could be really nice. After all, if they were friends with Kaka-sensei, his number one idol, they couldn't be that bad, could they?

"Yeah, sure! I wanna' meet your friends." Naruto smiled sweetly; it made Asuma grin around his cigarette. _Cute kid. _

"Alright. We meeting them at Akimichi's?"

"Just Genma.." Asuma shook his head. "We're meetin' at Kurenai's new place. I'll lead the way." Kakashi raised an eyebrow as his friend chattered on about Kohona's resident 'Ice Queen.' _He's certainly made an interesting choice._ _All I can say is...good luck Asuma. You'll need it._

As they strolled towards the more expensive apartments in Kohona, Kakashi couldn't help but draw comparisons to Naruto's...less than appealing abode. Naruto had mentioned something about the ceiling leaking in one of their training sessions. If it got any worse, he would move him out into a better facility, but for now, he just made sure he was comfortable. The rather intimidating Jounin would never tell anyone, but he actually quite _enjoyed_ shopping for his student. It wasn't often that he spent money on anyone but himself, and that was only the necessities. Eventually, the stopped at an apartment complex only slightly larger than Naruto's, like many of the buildings n Kohona, it was a brightly coloured green with a dome shaped roof.

"Well, we're here. I guess they'll be down in a sec." Asuma waited until he caught eye contact with his friend. He eyed him meaningfully, which piqued Kakashi's curiosity. "So...Kakashi, I've been feeling a little strange on the way over here." _There's someone following us._

"Maa, maybe it's a bug? I've been feeling it too, for quite a while now." _I know. They keep following me._

"Interesting. How did you get it?" _Since when?_

"Hmm, I don't know; I've had it for a couple of weeks. Something Naruto cooked, perhaps?" _Since I became Naruto's sensei. _

"Hey! I didn't cook anything bad." The blonde looked rather affronted and upset; he prided himself on his cooking. If he really did make his Sensei ill, he'd feel so bad!

"I know, your cooking is excellent." He ruffled his golden locks comfortingly. "I'll just have to make sure no one sells you bad ingredients." _If anyone comes near you, I'll kill them. _Asuma nodded slightly to show he agreed.

"Well...alright, if you're sure." Naruto made a mental note to cook extra carefully. It wasn't as if he checked the expiration date three times over already. Kakashi decided to ignore the ROOT nin tailing them, if they wanted to aimlessly follow them, fine, if they made a move, he'd cut them down before they blinked.

"Hello Asuma... Kakashi, I didn't know you were coming?" Kurenai greeted them pleasantly. Asuma marvelled at how graceful she looked making her way down the steps.

"Nani? No way, _that_ antisocial bastard's here? Let me see!" Or at least, she looked rather graceful until Anko thrust her out of the way, propelling her into Asuma's arms...not that he minded. Kakashi noted with a smug smirk the matching blushes on their cheeks. _Cute._ "Yo! Kakashi, you really are here! 'Thought we _scared _you."

"Yeah, right, that's just _you_, Anko." Asuma snorted and dodged the three senbon flying towards his groin area. Both men winced, that could have been _painful._

"Shut up, baka! Che, can't we skip the whole restaurant thing and go get _Dango_?" She was salivating at the thought of her favourite food.

"Believe it or not, short-stuff, not all of us want to eat sweets for dinner."

"_Short-stuff_? I'm gonna' kill you!"

"Ignore the idiots." Asuma visibly winced at Kurenai's chiding tone. "We're glad you're here Kakashi."

"Thanks." Kakashi smiled over the top of his book and rubbed his neck awkwardly. He really did have a hard time responding to sentences like that.

"Uh, bastard, not sure if you've noticed, but you have some sort of yellow growth on your leg." Anko blinked curiously as the yellow growth moved from behind the bastard and peered up at her with heavily lashed, cerulean blue eyes. Dang, she wasn't even the least bit maternal, hell, she didn't even like brats, but this gaki was _cute! _So cute, she felt the urge to pinch his whiskered cheek...wait, _whiskered_? _Hey, it's the Kyuubi brat!_

"Aaa, this is Naruto, my apprentice." Kakashi gave them his signature one eyed smile.

"Hi..." Naruto greeted them shyly, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. Anko blinked away her initial recognition and grinned. She, quite frankly, didn't give the slightest fuck about his tenant. From her experience, anything any civilian said was a crock load of shit. She'd know.

"Hey, brat! Got saddled with this bastard, eh? I feel sorry for you!" The teen joked. She'd never actually admit she had a rather large crush on the older nin. Naruto, being the loyal student he was, immediately came to his Sensei's defence.

"Kaka-sensei's not a bastard!" He exclaimed defiantly. Kakashi was slightly bemused, and rather happy at the statement, but ultimately felt his eyebrow twitch.

"Anko, if you could refrain from swearing in front of my brat, I'd appreciate it." He promptly flicked Naruto's ear. "And don't use that word, or I'll never buy you ramen again."

"Nani?" The jinchuriki's eyes widened at the threat. "Hai, sensei!"

Asuma was less than pleased with Kurenai's reaction. Sure, she hadn't outwardly shown any disgust or hatred, but there was the slight tensing of the shoulders and a certain hardness to her eyes that showed her wariness. As a Kunochi, she should know better than to fear or resent the child that held the demon. And he damn well knew she was smarter than that.

"Yo, Kurenai." He snapped his fingers in front of her face to draw away her distrustful gaze.

"Hm?" She blinked in surprise at his disapproving glance.

"Not cool." It only took two words to make her sign with defeat.

"I know, I know. It's not _him, _it's _that._" Asuma's brows furrowed in sympathy as her beautiful red eyes looked at him in grief. They'd all been there, the day the Kyuubi attacked. Kurenai was of them that was most...affected. Her mother died that day, and he knew for a fact she still had nightmares. He couldn't find it in his heart to blame her for feeling some sort of contempt for the boy, but that didn't make it any the less morally wrong. The kid didn't deserve it either.

"I know, Kurenai. Is it going to be a...problem? I didn't want to run anyone's time."

"No, I'll be fine. He seems sweet." Kurenai sent him a reassuring smile which made him stomach flutter... not that he'd ever use the word 'flutter.'

"Alright then, my minions! Let's go, before my stomach eats itself." Anko abruptly announced. Naruto made an expression of repulsion.

"Eww!" The mental image of a stomach eating itself was absolutely _disgusting._ Anko chuckled at her reactions and smirked maliciously.

"Let me give you a little science lesson about digestive fluids..." She said that last two words with too much amusement to be completely sane. Naruto swallowed nervously and looked to her sensei for help. The silver haired Jounin didn't even bat an eyelash, but Naruto could feel the glee falling off him in waves. He scowled at the man. _Yeah, see if I ever stick up for you again! _He tried to tune her out, unsuccessfully.

"And then the Hydrochloric acid...ehh, what?" Anko raised an eyebrow at the kid who was staring at her intently, or rather, staring at her...and the civilians milling around. She instantly grimaced_; so he noticed._ Naruto wasn't looking at her with wary eyes, nor was he blindly curious as to why the civilians were staring at her with the same, frosty, fearful eyes that made his heart squeeze. The reason didn't matter to him, not at all. It was as they neared Akimichi's that he realised her heart clenched in the same way. Outwardly, no one, not even her pretty friend Kurenai, who didn't seem to like him that much, could tell she was upset. She wore a perfect mask, like unscathed glass. It was only Naruto, because he was a sensor, who could feel the misery in her Chakra. For just a second, the glass cracked as Anko recognised the emotion in his eyes to be _empathy. _It startled her as much as it made her livid, but it wasn't directed towards the small boy. No, she was angry at the wretched people who made them seem like the monsters, when they were the victims. A child, especially one as young as Kakashi's student, shouldn't be able to produce that amount of complete, sincere empathy. He should be blissfully ignorant and naive. His early loss of innocence made her feel...sad.

"Anko-san?" He decided to bring the rather one-sided conversation about bodily fluids to an end.

"Yeah, what is it, gaki? And no 'san' crap, you're making me feel old. Anko will do." Naruto studied her face and found her grin to look quite false. It was obvious, in the midst of the crowd, of her discomfort. Her usual bright, unwavering Chakra was flickering with unease.

"Okay! Anko, you said earlier...you like dango, right?" Anko raised an eyebrow with curiosity. Where was this going?

"Oh yeah! Best tasting food in the world. _Please_ tell me you've had some."

"Of course!" Naruto rolled his eyes. Who hasn't tried dango? "I was just gonna' say, I can make you amazing dango! Right, Kaka-sensei?"

"Yup." The blonde sweat-dropped at his lack of embellishment, he was about to _rip_ that book out of his hands.

"Nani? You can cook?" Anko blinked in surprise. She'd only started learning to cook when she was fifteen...after _that bastard left her for dead._ But, no, she wasn't going to think about _him_ on such a lovely night.

"Hai, hai! Kaka-sensei, tell her how good I am!"

"Mhmm." He made a slightly sound of agreement; he wasn't exactly paying attention..._Ohoho, Miki-chan, you're so naughty~_

"Okay...that's it!" Naruto started to punch him in the side, full strength; he was gradually getting more irritable as Kakashi ignored him. Just outside the door of the restaurant, Kakashi decided to speak.

"Naruto-chan, stop tapping me." The blonde narrowed his eyes in childish outrage.

"Tapping? _Tapping? _I was punching you!"

"Oh? Maa, it felt like a flurry of tiny little flicks." His mocking tone obviously pissed his student off, because the next punch was reinforced with Chakra. It even made him stumble. There was a moment of silence.

"Point for the gaki!" Anko didn't hide her insane cackling. The sight of the oh-godly copy-nin stumbling back with the force of a _six-year-olds_ punch was just _too_ funny! When Kakashi heard the chuckling of Kurenai, Asuma _and_ Genma, he knew he'd never live it down. Naruto still hadn't stopped staring at his fist like it was a foreign object. Kakashi gave it a glance to make sure he wasn't injured; apart from the slight graze of his knuckles, he was fine.

"Well, that was quite a punch, Naruto." The blonde eyes grew wide with apology and guilt. Kakashi inwardly groaned as they started tearing up. _Ah, the joys of over-emotional children. Was I ever like this?_

"I'm so sorry!" The group with watched with bemusement as the blonde flung himself around Kakashi's legs. He awkwardly bent down and patted the boy's head.

"Maa, don't you worry about it. I hardly felt a thing."

"Yeah, right, you almost _fell_." Genma sniggered; he'd arrived just in time to see the great punch. Needless to say, his respect for his friend's student had gone up tenfold. Well, until he started blubbering anyway. Kakashi shot him a glare as his comment only produce another onset of sniffles. The copy-nin sighed resignedly before hooking his hands around the boy's upper arms and picking him up. He adjusted the boy so his arm wrapped around his short, stubby legs, effectively cradling him to his chest. He patted his student's back soothingly; somewhat glad he remembered when Minato-sensei used to do the exact same thing when he was upset, much to his mortification.

"You're just being silly, you hardly touched me. I'm a _Jounin_, I've had a _lot _worse." Anko cringed as Naruto's sniffling just got louder._ Bad choice of words._ Kakashi glanced at the group apologetically.

"He's just tired and hungry. Might as well get him something to eat." To his credit, Kakashi carried him all the way into the restaurant, only setting him down when they got to their seats. Thankfully, then even managed to snag the booth which got them a moderate amount of privacy; Kakashi didn't think his already irritable and emotional student would like a bunch of civilians gawking at him, or Anko for that matter. Rich civilians were even worse to the boy, and Akimichi's restaurant was a classy place.

Naruto was exhausted. It was now half past seven, and although he had a rather large amount of energy for a child of his age, Kakashi guessed it was the Kyuubi's work, training and lack of sleep only served to completely zap it down to near empty; he thanked the owner of the restaurant for buying such comfy, plush suede seating. Anko grinned widely when Naruto snuggled his way under Kakashi's arms and into his side. Everyone present was mildly surprised at how Kakashi didn't seem to mind the contact, but he'd figured out a couple of days into his training his student was rather affectionate from the frequent hugs... and the fact that he actually quite liked them. Anko just found it all rather adorable; she'd already decided, straight from the moment her gave her _that_ look, she really, _really, _liked this brat. She decided she _adored_ the brat when he offered her dango.

"I'm gonna' get the tempura prawns and rice, no idea what the hell they do with the batter, but damn, it tastes _amazing._ What you gettin', gaki?" Anko practically shoved the menu in his face. It was at this point when Naruto recognised he was ravenous. She leaned over and pointed to a brightly colours section. "That's the kid's menu!" Kakashi seemed to half choke, half laugh.

"Oh, he'll eat an adult portion." Kurenai raised an eyebrow

"Isn't that a little large? The portions here are big."

"Oh, trust me, he'll eat it all." _And probably finish off mine. _Kakashi knew better than to underestimate the amount the blonde could eat, or rather, his wallet knew better.

"Ano...I guess I'll get the prawns as well." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"No ramen?" Naruto shook his head. It seemed silly to come to a nice restaurant and have ramen. He could cook himself ramen anytime.

"Nope!"

The waitress was foreign, so Naruto was saved from any less than charming gazes. After chatting throughout dinner, after he'd gained some energy from his food (both his and half of his sensei's portion, much to everyone's amazement, though not quite as amazing as Kaka-sensei's ability to eat without anyone seeing his face,) Naruto found that he really liked his Sensei's friends, especially Asuma and Anko. Their banter was funny. He was wary of Kurenai, just as she was cautious with him, and he just found Genma to be a bit weird. Nice, but weird.

"Well, look what we have here!" A rather _generously_ proportioned man with long red hair and purple cheek-markings greeted them with a booming laugh. Naruto could tell from his almost pure Chakra that he was a nice man, and noted with interest how everyone smiled warmly when they saw him.

"Chouza! I haven't seen you in years!" Asuma took out his unlit cigarette (smoking was not allowed, but he felt strange without one,) and jumped up to give the man, what Naruto thought, was a rather aggressive hug. If anyone asked Asuma, however, it's was just a manly greeting with a touch more outwardly affection.

"Literally! You have facial hair now!" Chouza laughed and squeezed the smoker's shoulder. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of you in ages! How are you all doing?" A unanimous 'Great!' was emitted from the entire group, bar Naruto, who Chouza's attention drifted to almost immediately. When he came to see how his restaurant was doing, and saw the tufts of silver and blonde hair over the booth, he'd practically jogged over to them, which just showed how eager he was to meet his deceased friend's son, because Akimichi's do _not_ jog...unless absolutely necessary. "And who might this be?"

"Aaa, this is Naruto, my apprentice." Kakashi couldn't even remember how many times he had to say the same sentence that day.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto! I'm Chouza Akimichi, clan head!" Naruto blinked in surprise and awe. He'd learnt about the four noble clans of Kohona the week before, he could scarcely believe such a prominent figure was standing before him, addressing them all so warmly. He thought they'd all be arrogant and imposing...which was quite right in the Uchiha's and Hyuuga's case.

"Ano...you too, Akimichi-sama." He smiled shyly, which Chouza returned.

"Well, aren't you polite?" _Just as respectful as Minato always was. He really does take after him, he looks like his replica! If only he were here to see this... _"So, how's he doing Kakashi?"

"Aaa, his training's going very well, thank you."

"Hell yeah, the gaki punched him earlier, sent him flying!" Anko decided to cut in, ignoring the glare from the mentioned nin.

"Stumbled, I just stumbled." Kakashi muttered under his breath, much to Chouza's amusement. "He's a budding genius chef as well; if you'd like to know." This caught Chouza's attention; it mentioned food.

"Oh? Really?"

"Hai. He cooks for me, tastes great every time." Naruto was turning a fantastic shade of red from all the praise. "You should've tried his cake."

"Well, perhaps Naruto would like to come over and show us how he made it? I have a son your age." _And out comes my real intention for walking over here; a play-date. Though, cake's a bonus. _The blonde's eyes practically glowed with excitement.

"_Really?"_ Kakashi gazed fondly as Naruto was practically jumping from his seat. _See, Naruto? I told you; soon the list will be dripping with names._

_After the night ended, Naruto realized Kakashi was the best thing that ever happened to him. A month ago, he could've only imagined having this many friends, but ever since Wolf-san appeared in his life, it had only gotten better. As they made their way back to his apartment, the blonde reached up the slide his small hand into his Sensei's callused one. Kakashi blinked in surprise, but it didn't take a second for it to melt into a warm smile, he gave the small hand a squeeze. Naruto couldn't suppress what he wanted to say._

"_Kaka-sensei, you're my most important person!"_

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Next chapter:

Naruto meets Chouji and Shikamaru!

A time jump!

Whilst Kakashi is on a mission, Naruto is walking home from training with his friend, Sasuke. Before he reaches his apartment, he's attacked! Will Kakashi arrived in time?

(Sorry, couldn't resist the cheesy tone:P )

Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to **tell me what you think**! Sorry for the slow moving chapter with many pointless point...but slow development ;)

I'll give you a detailed explanation on all the things he can tell from Chakra next chapter! Woo!

Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4: Corruptible Innocence

**Namikaze Tensai**

When life hands you a Mini-Yondaime, what do you do? Train him, of course! Smart!Naruto, Minato-like!Naruto, Strong!Naruto.

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**Hey guys! **

Sorry for the wait, been so so busy with my new school….and had a bitttt of a writer's block.

**1. **Writing my first ever fight-ish scene, I apologize for the crappiness.

**2**. I made Iruka an okay fighter. As a Chuunin he only does C-ranks and the occasional B-rank, in which I would assume included easy assassination missions. I got the echolocation technique from wiki.

**3. **I get you could consider this a Kakashi and Naruto OC story. Kakashi is such a complex character that whilst I'm trying to develop him, it's getting gradually harder. He also seem far too accepting of his parental role to me, but hey, it's needed for this story so oh well:') I hope you guys enjoy anyway.

**4. I'm very surprised at the amount of people who vote for some shounen-ai. It's thrashing all the straight pairings on the poll at the moments. For the people who dislike yaoi, if it ends up winning, don't worry, the story will mainly be GEN will some shounen-ai flairs that can basically be taken as friendship/bromance. **

Anyways, feel free to give criticism! I'm meh about this chapter, but I hope you guys like it!

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Four: Corruptible Innocence.**

**November 5****th**

**Six Years Old**

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Unlike most clan compounds, the Akimichi's took immense pride in being welcoming, unlike the overwhelming opulence of the Hyuuga. The compound was grandeur whilst being seemingly modest, with impeccable glossy wooden houses furnished with warm colours and an abundance of flora. Though Naruto was standing before the clan head's home, the quality of the residence didn't differentiate from the rest of the compound. It was a testament of their respect of every Akimichi member, unlike the Hyuuga; in which the branch family often shared smaller, less pleasant homes to make way for the supposed superiority of the main house.

Naruto, never before seeing such well kept homes, or the splendour of different colours and willowing trees that adorned the compound, wasn't quite sure what to do. He followed the path religiously, as not to step on any flowers, and felt terribly out of place in the wealthy estate. He was incredibly eager to meet more children of his own age, especially with the promise of baking, but his tummy kept doing these bizarre little flips. When he told his Sensei that he may be unwell, the copy-nin simply said that he had '_butterflies _in his stomach'. Naruto had been absolutely horrified to know that poor, pretty butterflies were flying around in his belly, _especially_ after Anko's lecture on digestive fluids. Kakashi had laughed at the butterflies' predicament; it seemed his Sensei was extraordinarily cruel.

The Sensei in question leant over Naruto to deliver two quick knocks on the mahogany door. Naruto felt the familiar buzz of two well-developed Chakra's leisurely approach them. His nerves dissipated immediately; the two Chakra's sent a particular warmth coursing through his veins, they were simply...kind, even more so than Kakashi-sensei, whom he adored.

"Kakashi, Naruto! You aren't late." Chouza blinked in surprise and double-checked his watch. The infamous copy-nin was on time? Ludicrous!

"Maa, of course. I'm not that bad." Kakashi shamefacedly insisted, but he wasn't convincing anyone. Chouza and his wife, Chichi, simply stared at the Jounin dubiously before shaking their heads, even Naruto sniggered- which earned him a slight swat on the head.

"Yeah...anyway, why don't you both come on in?" Naruto and Kakashi followed the couple into their home. Remembering their manners, they took their shoes off at the Genkan. Naruto wriggled his toes and decided he liked the feel of the Tatami flooring beneath his feet. It was far better than his mottled carpet.

"Naruto, Kakashi, meet my wife Chichi." His eyes crinkled with affection upon uttering her name. It made Naruto smile, it was nice to see the obvious love and affection between the couple; Naruto had been exposed to very few of such acts.

"Nice to meet you, Kakashi-san, Naruto-chan." Chichi smiled warmly, her purple-ringed brown eyes crinkling. Naruto decided it was a pretty smile. "I'll put on some tea!" Chichi offered, smoothing down her short brown hair. Naruto felt terrible for noticing, but he'd never seen such _large_ Ninja's before, even if his wife was apparently retired. He guessed it was some sort of family trait. Chouza turned to Kakashi, giving him a seemingly meaningful look, before facing Naruto.

"Naruto, my son Chouji and Shikamaru are in the garden, why don't you run on ahead and we'll see you in a minute?"

Naruto hesitated and eyed the door warily, all his previous attempts of introducing himself to other children had ended disastrously; the prospect of meeting them with no prior introduction was extremely daunting. Kakashi caught his hesitation and patted the blonde's head and sent him a re-assuring glance, before disappearing into Chouza's study. The large clan head had noticed the questionable activity around the two; it seemed he was as wary of Danzo as himself.

Naruto stood still for a few moments before toddling past the kitchen and Chouza's kind wife, eventually arriving at the Shoji doors. He investigated the garden aimlessly before recognising two small Chakra's signatures; Naruto immediately ambled towards their location. Anticipation instantaneously bubbled in his chest at the sight of one brown-haired, larger boy, which he assumed was Chouza's son, and another spiky-haired boy he didn't recognise. True to their Shinobi origins, both children noticed Naruto's presence before he made himself known.

"Hi..." Naruto greeted shyly, a small smile gracing his lips. Chouji seemed to appreciate his anxiety; the small, rapid fluctuations in his Chakra signified that he felt the same way. The other boy, the one he assumed was Shikamaru, groaned in annoyance; he wavered for a moment before deciding to stay seated on the ground. His blatant apathy, bordering on reluctance, immediately set Naruto on edge. Chouji seemed to recognise his guarded expression and was quick to reassure the smaller boy.

"Ah, don't worry, Shikamaru's just _really, really_ lazy. I'm Chouji."

"Oh, well…that's okay then." Naruto suddenly found the loose thread on his jumper _very _interesting. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki." Chouji smiled brightly at the boy and held out a packet of barbeque flavoured chips. Shikamaru seemed to eye Naruto suspiciously, as if he were a threat. The lazy boy had very protective tendencies over his best friend; bullies were unacceptable. At first glance, clueless, insensitive young boys immediately wrote the young Akimichi off as 'fat' and 'useless,' which usually ended up with his best friend in tears. If this new boy showed any sign of taunting Chouji, Shikamaru simply wouldn't stand for it. Though, he had to admit, this newcomer, with his fluffy blonde hair, short stature and innocent blue eyes didn't look particularly menacing.

"Want a chip?"

"Sure!" Naruto smiled brightly and took a chip from the bag before putting it in his mouth, savouring the taste. Both boys looked at Naruto strangely.

"That's a weird to eat chips." Chouji commented. "You ate it _really _slowly."

"Hmm?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, frowning with confusion as Chouji froze. Shikamaru knew just what he was expecting; '_yeah, well I don't gobble it up like you, fatso!' _But he well pleasantly surprised when the boy just smiled kindly. "I like it better that way, the flavour lasts longer. Besides, eating quickly can give you indigestion." Chouji's nose scrunched with puzzlement.

"Indigestion?"

"Yeah, you end up with..." Naruto's face went slightly red, he coughed in embarrassment. It had been even worse when Anko had described the dangers if eating quickly...in vivid detail. He wasn't that cruel. "Err, _wind_." Both boys looked fairly disgusted.

"Eww!" Chouji mentally noted to eat far more leisurely in the future.

"I can't be bothered to get up, you two can sit down." Shikamaru stated with a yawn. It seems the walk from his house to Chouji's used far too much effort for him to handle. Chouji flung himself on the ground, whilst Naruto tentatively sat beside them.

"So, Naruto! I heard you were going to school with us?" Naruto nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! Kakashi-sensei said I'm starting next autumn." Shikamaru made a curious grunt.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah! I'm his apprentice." Naruto stated proudly. Chouji's eyes seemed to sparkle with admiration, even Shikamaru appeared slightly fascinated.

"Wow! What's he like? Is he strong?"

"Kakashi-sensei is the best! He's a jounin!" His voice lowered so he was whispering conspicuously. "I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but he was ANBU too."

"_Woah_." Both boys breathed, not at all impressed by the fact Kakashi was a Jounin, their fathers were too, as well as clan head's, but ANBU was the epitome of cool.

"Have you learnt anything cool?" Chouji inquired keenly. Naruto's nose scrunched up in something akin to annoyance.

"Well, it wasn't like I thought it would be. I was kinda imaging loads of awesome Jutsu..." Naruto's eyes twinkled from Kakashi's prior demonstration of the Summoning technique. "But I guess Taijutsu is cool. Oh, I'm starting Chakra control exercises after Kaka-sensei gets back from his mission."

"Chakra control? Hey, I know how to do one of those!" Chouji insisted, scrambling away to gather some leaves. Naruto blinked confusedly.

"Huh?"

"You stick it to your forehead using Chakra. It's very...troublesome." Shikamaru briefly explained, before yawning and flopping back onto the grass, shutting his eyes. Naruto, not wanting to disturb his...nap, turned his attention solely to Chouji.

"Ano...how do you do it?" Chouji quickly handed him a leaf and began explaining.

"Okay, basically you need to put a really, _really _small amount of Chakra through the leaf to make it stick to your forehead. Once you get really good, you could do all sorts of stuff, like spin it!" Chouji abruptly stopped and blushed. "I haven't got that far yet..."

"Well, why don't we make it a challenge?" Naruto asked, his azure eyes sparkling with spirited anticipation.

"Huh?"

"Well, whoever starts spinning first will...gets the biggest slice of cake!" Chouji's eyes lit up at the mention of food and then glinted with fiery determination. Naruto could practically see the flames.

"Deal! Just so you know, I'm going to win."

"Oh?" Naruto grinned good-naturedly. "And I'll have you know, when it comes to food, I _always_ win!"

"Yeah? Well, same here!" Simultaneously, both boys snatched a leaf from the piles and placed it on their forehead. Shikamaru, who was supposedly sleeping, smiled gently. His semi-introverted friend was having fun; this new guy wasn't so bad, not at all.

Naruto sat upright and touched the leaf to his forehead. He hadn't yet begun moulding Chakra externally in his training, so he was having a far more difficult time than Chouji, whose leaf stuck for less than a second before flying away. Although Chouji had already begun his training, as a typical adolescent he had terrible Chakra control, resulting in channelling far too much Chakra, which made the leaf fly away, or not enough to make it stick. Neither did he have Naruto's advantage of being a Chakra sensor. Frowning in displeasure when his tenth leaf crumbled into ashes, Naruto grabbed another and held it firmly in his palm. With his other hand, he watched with undisguised intrigue as he run his fingers over the leaf; his _yellow_ Chakra spiralled out from his finger and travelled through the leaf's veins in pulsing waves. He hadn't even realised he was emitting Chakra, which was problematic, because every time he tried to channel it deliberately, it ended up completely overpowering the leaf's energy and burning it to a crisp. Shikamaru, seeing his plight, decided to offer some helpful advice, courtesy of his father.

"It helps when you think of something big getting small. Say...an umbrella, slowly reaching the size of a pin." Naruto blinked in surprise at the quiet boy's intelligent advice before he beamed, nodding gratefully.

"Okay, Arigato!" Resuming his efforts with renewed vigour, Naruto's awareness flourished; it was like a thin, delicate thread had snapped inside his brain. He was suddenly aware of each movement, each flow the Chakra made, how fast Chouji was channelling it, each fluctuation and shiver. When Chouji finally made it stick to his forehead, and let out an exhilarated whoop, he recorded the minute amount of Chakra he needed. The only problem was is that he just couldn't _reach _that level. Trying to clamp down on his ridiculously large reserves of Chakra was like tying to screw the top on a bottle far too tightly; he'd just _nearly _be at the level he needed, before all his control broke and his Chakra exploded violently, taking the poor leaf with it. With thirty leaves diminished, and a newly acquired stack of ashes, Naruto let out an aggravated grunt and came to the conclusion that he

probably could not do this exercise. But he wasn't about to give up.

"Is there any other way I can go about this?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow curiously at Naruto's question.

"Why?"

"I think I have too much Chakra." Shikamaru didn't look convinced, in fact, he thought Naruto was just being a sore loser. "No, really! Chouji's chakra is like... a small candle flame, but y'see, mine's like a beacon." Shikamaru looked at Naruto, then to the pile of ashes. A tiny smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

"Ah, I see. Try multiple leaves... say, four." Naruto frowned at the advice, but complied.

"How do you see your chakra anyway? Some sorta' technique?" Naruto lay down on the grass and put all four leaves on his forehead before answering.

"Nope! I'm a chakra sensor; I can tell a bunch of stuff just by feelin' you. "

"Feeling?"

"Well, y'know, _sensing. _I can't explain it. It's just...there." Naruto cursed slightly when his forgotten leaves flew away with a gust of wind. A contemplative look crossed Shikamaru's face.

"That's…pretty useful."

"That's what Kakashi-sensei said!" Naruto nodded, beaming. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile slightly as Naruto gathered his leaves; the new kid was pretty ...bright? A few moments passed.

"What does my chakra feel like?" Naruto blinked at the abrupt question. He opened his mouth slightly before closing it, a puzzled frown marring his features. Shikamaru's chakra was...different.

"Well, your flame's slightly smaller than Chouji's, like a match light. Your chakra feels cool and dark...not evil or anything, just sort of airy. Relaxed." He paused. "I can usually feel certain elements. Like with Kakashi-sensei, he reminds me of storms- and he uses lightening, but with you...just sorta' shadowy I suppose." A knowing smirk graced Shikamaru's lips.

"I'm a Nara, we're naturally good with shadows. Dad's trying to teach me to use them...but it's so troublesome. I just want to sleep." Chouji stopped his exercise to roll his eyes.

"You _always_ want to sleep." Just to prove a point, Shikamaru didn't answer. He turned to face away from the boys, closing his eyes. Naruto snorted with amusement before returning to his leaves.

Using four leaves was slightly easier; Naruto could release the same measure of Chakra to his forehead that would have crumbled a single leaf, but managed to only send them lightly tumbling away. Compressing his Chakra was a task in itself; the pressure rose uncomfortably in his chakra system, producing a light sheen of sweat that coated his skin. Every time he'd get his yellow Chakra...which he'd have to ask Kakashi about later, down to a small lantern sized output, it would fluctuate wildly after a couple of seconds. It was _infuriating. _Much to Naruto's dismay, he had to concede defeat; for now, anyway.

"The trees will end up naked at this rate." Naruto's voice cut into the silence, catching Chouji's attention from his leaves. The blond smiled good-naturedly. "You win, Chouji."

"Yes!" The larger boy whooped gleefully. "More cake for me!" He then proceeded to fling his leaves away, settling for the far more precious wonders of nature (and human industrialisation) resting in the garden; his chips.

"Boys! Time to make some cake!" The three craned their necks around to see Chouji's large mother waving wildly, rolling pin in hand.

"Aw, man. Just as I was falling asleep. Troublesome."

"Shut up, Shika! Cake's much better than sleep!" Shikamaru yawned, his eyes flickering to Chouji for less than a second, before shaking his head.

"Nah."

"Boys! I'd like to bake a cake _before_ New Years."

"Coming Kaa-san!" Chouji beamed, toddling forward, leaving his two friends to amble behind. Naruto visibly flinched at the title, which made the ever perceptive Shikamaru narrow his eyes in concern. He'd known the boy for less than an hour, but Shikamaru was quite astonished to find that he was indeed becoming extremely fond of the boy; a feat none had quite managed since he'd met Chouji.

"You okay?" Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the question. He stammered for a while, not knowing how to explain the empty, sore feeling stabbing through his chest as he saw Chouji and his mother walk hand-in-hand back to their house. Shikamaru waited patiently for the dejected boy to answer.

"Y-yeah, I guess I'm fine." He licked his abruptly drying lips. "It's just; I don't really have a mother..."

"Oh." Shikamaru hesitated, not knowing how to console the other boy. He knew some people didn't have mothers; his Mom's friend, a Sarutobi, had died a year before, and his own mother had cried for days. It was sad, and Shikamaru thought he didn't know how to handle that. "Well, you can share mine if you want.._."_

"Huh?" Naruto gaped at the absurdity of the statement. It did, however, made his feel warm and tingly.

"What? You can come over sometime this week, if you want. I'll warn you though, she's _scary_."

_As it turns out, Shikamaru will always knows what to say, just as Chouji will always have the kindest heart. That day, Naruto made his two of his most dependable, steady bonds._

* * *

**November 23****rd**

**Six Years Old**

* * *

"Hey, Naruto! It's getting kinda late." Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto's best friend, commented on the gradually darkening sky. The blonde craned his neck upwards and blinked in surprise at his dim blue surroundings, the house had passed so quickly; he hadn't even noticed. With a quick flick of his wrist, Naruto flung his last kunai towards the training post. He turned to the raven with a small, triumphant grin when it the bottom in the post, his other five kunai spaced above it, bisecting the post in a rather jagged line, but it was good enough to make Naruto beam with a sense of pride. Sasuke nodded eagerly in approval. "Nice! Next time you could make a smiley face."

"Or a frowny face. I'll name it Uchiha-sama." Naruto giggled.

"Hey!" Sasuke called out in indignation. He was far too polite and well-mannered to speak ill of his own father- especially when he strived so had for his acceptance. "My tou-san doesn't frown _all_ the time."

"Eh..." Naruto didn't look convinced.

"I've seen him smile a few times." Sasuke paused, desperately trying to come up with examples. Finally, he conceded to the point that his father _may _have a rather dull personality. "Well, alright, whatever. Anyway, you want me to walk you home? It's getting dark."

"Nawh, I'll be okay!"

"Are you sure?" Sasuke's brow furrowed in concern. "Kaa-san said to walk you home, or go get her if it was too dark." Naruto immediately shook his head. It wasn't as if he didn't like the woman, Mikoto Uchiha was super kind, pretty and she seemed to absolutely adore Naruto; to the point where he didn't quite know how to handle all the affection. Plus, she'd look at him weirdly sometimes; it made Naruto wonder just what about his appearance was so unsettling, because the intense examining of his features made him feel quite uncomfortable.

"No, it's okay." Naruto shook his head. "Anko-nee-chan should be picking me up. I'll see you next week, Sasuke!"

"Bye!" He paused. "Hey, call me Aniki!" Sasuke requested with a grin. Naruto, however, turned around with a frown.

"Why do _you _get to be the older brother?" He asked in displeasure. He was definitely more mature than the Uchiha; surely he should be the Aniki?

"I'm taller _and _I'm older." Sasuke stated factually, much to Naruto's chagrin. He scowled in distaste.

"Not by much, for either!" Sasuke snorted.

"_Please_, I tower over you."

"Whatever. Bye, Aniki-teme."

"Bye Otouto!" Sasuke waved cheerfully, ignoring his friend's latter comment. His smile turned into a frown as the evening turned into a dark navy blue, and the moon's light was clouded by ash-like vapour. Sasuke couldn't purge of his sense of foreboding. In hindsight, he should've really gotten his Kaa-san to walk Naruto home.

Naruto huffed at his watch and made circular designs in the dirt due to utter boredom. The designated time to pick him up had passed half an hour ago, and with the knowledge that Anko was usually on-time, if not early to pretty much everything, he concluded that she'd probably forgotten all about him. He wasn't sure if he felt upset that she hadn't come to meet him, or just plain annoyed for making him wait. Not sticking around for a moment longer, Naruto took off in the direction of his apartment. He wasn't incapable of returning by himself, as he'd done many times in the past, but he'd grown accustomed for being led around for the past month by his sensei's friends. That, and the added fact that it was getting incredibly dark, to the point where he almost couldn't see his feet in front of him, made him far more skittish that usual. Passing through the area where the buildings gradually became of poorer quality, usually housing other orphaned civilians and ninjas devoid of family funding to support them, he ended up outside his apartment building unscathed.

That's when he saw the bloodied ninja wearing a Kohona hitai-ate...but something was _off, _he could feel the buzz of foreign Chakra surround him, dulling his senses. He didn't like the sensation. The man himself looked strange...transparent almost.

_What's going on?_

"You, kid!" Naruto froze and dropped his keys in surprise. He didn't even notice the sharp clang as they hit the floor. The shinobi, a nondescript, brown-haired Chunin was bleeding profusely from his side. The metallic smell and thick consistency made the blond feel woozy.

"Y-yes?" Naruto took a few small steps towards the man and sent a weary glance towards the direction of the hospital. If this man wanted help, he didn't even know how to wrap bandages!

"It's Kakashi! Kakashi Hatake!" Naruto felt his heart shudder, and then beat wildly at the name.

_Kakashi-sensei. Mission...blood?_

"S-sensei?" The mentally crafted blockage in his throat was obvious. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes! He's in trouble. He needs _your _help." Naruto somehow missed the smirk as he darted downwards to grab his keys, pocketing them and stumbling towards the injured ninja. His adolescent mind, combined with the Genjutsu and the trust which accompanied the familiar leaf symbol resulted in the strangeness of the scenario going unrealized; why would a Shinobi approach a young boy to help his injured comrade?

"What's h-happened?" Naruto didn't even cringe at how close he sounded to crying; he was far too upset. The smell of the blood made his force bile down his throat, he idly wondered why he felt so dizzy, but a little instinct...a voice perhaps, in his head, told him to ignore to oncoming feelings of nausea; the blurriness that dulled his senses and thoughts of reason.

"Doesn't matter, follow me!" The bleeding man leapt away with far too much vitality for one so injured, and ran in the direction of Kohona's outskirts. Naruto followed in pursuit; his small legs couldn't quite keep up with the man, the injured shinobi became a small figure in the distance. Desperation crept in as he tried to keep up; his chest became increasingly uncomfortable with shortness of breath due to the long-distance sprint. He didn't even register that the dripping wound was leaving no trail on the floor...

Nor the slender figure watching the scene with suspicion, reluctantly leaping across rooftops when the use of Genjutsu was recognised.

Naruto followed the man though a hole in the village wall, abruptly stopping in a clearing in the surrounding forest. Gasping for breath, his eyes searched wildly for the injured Shinobi who was going to lead him to his Sensei, _where is he_?

"Hello?" As he took a small step forward, the cloud in his mind seemed to dissipate. Just as the strangeness of his situation seemed to set in and the accompanying panic yet to emerge, four darkly dressed figures leapt from the treetops.

He was surrounded.

"Well, that was easy. You sure this is Hatake's brat?" A heavy-set man which an unfortunate series of facial scars sneered, turning to his comrade with an expression of disbelief. His lanky, wheat-haired comrade simply rolled his eyes.

"He's only a child. You expected too much, Arata."

"Pft. What exactly has Hatake been doing? The kid's practically a civilian."

"I don't see why you're complaining, it just makes it better for us. Easy money." The non-descript Chuunin from the earlier illusion cut in; the Kohona garments replaced with typical mercenary equipment. Whilst they bickered back and forth, Naruto wildly searched for a way to escape. He didn't have any weapons on him; the blunted Kunai were Uchiha property. He only had minimal Taijutsu training and absolutely no Jutsu to his name. Quite frankly, he was defenceless, and he sincerely hoped someone, anyone would find him. Faces flashed through his mind rapidly, but one's contrast was far brighter than the others.

_Kakashi-sensei..._

Iruka Umino mentally cursed. He was barely seventeen, a recently promoted Chuunin, and though he'd like to think he was qualified to deal with what _seemed_ like a group of mercenaries, probably a few weak missing-nin; their skill level was currently an anomaly he'd yet to fill. If they were indeed skilled, he had no backup to support him, nor the time to inform anyone of where he was going; his split second decision to follow the boy had been rather reckless. Some may say heroic, but nevertheless, reckless. How many ninja have perished from acts of heroism? An unfortunately large amount.

Upon seeing just who it was he intended to save; a tiny, vile consideration crept into his mind to just leave the boy. He vanquished it immediately. He, a proud shinobi of Kohona, whose livelihood depended on worthy intelligence, should know better than to blame the boy for what he held. How could he ever again meet the Sandaime's gaze if he left the Uzumaki child, a citizen of Kohona, to the wolves? Putting his personal feelings aside, and the vivid memory of his parent's deaths, he resolved to save the boy.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cluster of Kunai. Cursing softly, he laced his feet with Chakra and swiftly dodged onto a lower branch. The attack had been surprisingly fast, which could only indicate some semblance of formal training. His potential courses of action were severely restricted by the live hostage. If this were a standard assassination, Iruka would simply line the area with minor Genjutsu before swooping in with his volley of explosive tags. He'd never been in a scenario where there was a chance of injuring an innocent.

Knowing that the weapons were particularly harmless, Iruka threw a few Kunai into the clearing, visibly missing the mercenaries. Upon seeing their sneers at his supposedly pitiable aim, Iruka allowed himself to smirk. It only grew when a thick layer of mist was released from the seals; reducing the enemy to absolute blindness. Mist tags weren't widely used by many Shinobi; their uses were incredibly limited, dependant on situation and terrain. It also rendered the user unaware of his enemy's movements; luckily, Iruka had an ace up his sleeve.

A piercing cry echoed from Iruka's parted lips, the rippling sound-waves from his Echolocation technique sprung back from the mercenaries' bodies; their precise location rebounded and processed via the Tenketsu in the chuunin's ears. Twirling a kunai in his hand, Iruka readied his stance, Chakra developing around the soles of his feet. Setting his sights on the two mercenaries closely guarding the young boy, he shot down from the tree, leaving an imprint remaining in the branch.

Terror and disorientation dulled Naruto's senses. He knew he was whimpering like a newborn baby, he could feel the tears burning a path along his scarred cheeks; but the adrenaline from having a kunai to his throat blocked any sense of self-preservation. The man holding him, the man he formerly believed to be a Kohona-nin, smelt of sour, burnt cinders; the smell would be forever ingrained into his mind. The fear from his fifth birthday paled in comparison to feeling the cold blade digging into the skin above his jugular, the hopelessness of his limbs being pinned, useless against the sturdy muscles of his abductor. He didn't even have time to question _why, _instead the thoughts of _please help me _dominated his mind.

Blinding pain- the pain that turned the inside of your eyelids turns white, consumed him as his was hurled into a tree. The shatter of his ankle, a _sickening _snapping sound, rose above the clashing of the Kunai.

What the worse, the feeling of utter hopelessness, or the crushing of hope when your saviour appears to be losing?

Iruka's eyes widened with momentary horror as a controlled breeze swept away his cover. Only two of the mercenary's were dead, and the others were circling him like vultures. Another,whom he hadn't even noticed_, and_ was apparently skilled enough to proficiently use Futon, was headed straight for him; a blade dripping with a nasty looking purple substance drawn at his side. With a guilty glance towards the shivering, prone form of the young boy, Iruka readied himself to jump away from the fray and inform the Hokage, like he should've done from the start.

At least, until he felt the overwhelming killing intent emanating from the tree's ahead of him. The mercenaries seemed to disappear in a sea of blood and severed limbs.

_It was terrifying._

Kakashi Hatake had just finished a tedious, yet prolonged espionage mission. With no other injuries, bar the minor case of fatigue, he was quite ready to hand his report in and perhaps go have some fun with his cute little student. At least, that had been the plan until he sensed a suspicious spike in Chakra outside the village walls, coupled with intent far too vicious to be an impromptu training session. The scene he'd silently swooped upon? His student, _his sweet student, _lying beneath a tree, _bone_ protruding from skin, his only defence being an obviously green _Chuunin? _What the _hell_ were the Shinobi of Kohona doing? Twiddling their thumbs, enjoying a cup of tea?

'_Well, I guess the details don't matter too much right now.' _He mused, eye's zoning in on the three remaining enemies. '_Because they...are dead men walking.'_

He didn't even have to use his Chidori, his _clean _method of assassination. No, he ripped them apart with nothing but a Kunai, a hurricane of slashing and _destroying_ before they lay twitching in their own pools of blood. It was shocking, it was ghastly, and it was why he was _legendary. _Killing before most could write their own names, the art of butchering was second nature to him. It was so practised, so focused onto the almost mindless acts of carnage; it made most experience men tremble. ANBU hadn't completely moulded him into a mindless killing machine, but oh _kami, _he was _good_ at it. Pulling his Kunai free of one man's artery, he disappeared in a haze and rematerialized behind the lone survivor's throat. He sent the Chuunin, a rather meek, mousey looking boy, a look which shifted toward his charge meaningfully, before tightening his hold on the man's throat.

He watched out of his peripheral vision as the Chuunin painlessly knocked his student unconscious and scooped him into his arms, leaving only a pile in leaves in their wake.

"You will answer my questions." He spoke in a low, dangerous murmur. It was a tone that he'd practised to death, cultured towards only one purpose; instilling fear.

"Fuck _you_!" The man spat through bloodied lips. Kakashi felt his rage swirling into a torrid maelstrom; this _bastard_ was obviously a masochist. His free hand trailed up towards his Hitai-ate, releasing his Sharingan from its cover. The mercenary was spun around, and before he could react, ended up face-to-face with the _devil's eye_.

He wasn't referring to the Sharingan.

Suddenly, the feeling of burning alive in a vicious sea of blazing flames and drowning in pool of corrosive acid enveloped his being; the Copy-nin was giving no mercy. It was hell.

"Oh _kami, make it stop!" _ Kakashi stared dispassionately as the mercenary; possibly a Iwa or Suna deserter, judging by the dishwater blond hair, writhed on the ground in anguish. It was obvious the man didn't have a strong will; it was only seconds later he cut the Jutsu. Who'd answer his questions if his mind was fried? He gave the man a couple of seconds to regain his breath and wipe the spittle from his chin. Placing his foot on the man's trembling chest, a black eye flashed towards the treetops; he could feel several Chakra signatures heading their way.

"Who ordered you to come after that boy?" The man growled slightly and bit his lip, ignoring the slight throbbing from the split. It didn't even compare to the agony he just endured.

"I dunno! I dun' 'andle the orders, Kai did, but you _killed_ him." Kakashi ignored the man's glare, sending his a rather creepy looking eye-smile.

"Oh, I'm sure you can come up with something." His hand trailed up to his Hitai-ate once more...

"Iwa! From Iwa! I dunno names, but they were definitely big shots! This was good cash, y'know?" Kakashi frowned at the man's eyes; the held no regret in giving up the information, according to _underneath the underneath, _it almost...seemed like a cover. Which just left the question, who was the real perpetrator?

"Why him?" It seems the man still had some confidence left in him as he cracked a sardonic smirk.

"You should know, what better prize then ye' great Hatake's student?" Kakashi's face grew pale...he hadn't even thought of that. All hints of his growing suspicious were halted, replaced with only shock. This was his fault?

_Of course..._

As several familiar faces arrived on the scene to take the man to a friendly session of T and I, he could only form one coherent thought.

"_Fuck!"_

* * *

Kakashi, true to his Hatake roots, hovered over his student's bed like a guard-dog. The leg bone had been set under general aesthetic, leaving Naruto under the mercy of the medication and hospital staff for at least five days, even if he seemed to be healing at an alarming rate. A product of the Kyuubi, it was assumed. The boy had yet to wake, which did little to calm Kakashi's nerves. Was he traumatised? _Of course he is. _Will this change anything? _It shouldn't, but..._

He couldn't help but feel this wouldn't have happened if he'd used his father's unforgiving training regime.

_Early rise, eat, study, train, nap, study, train, eat, sleep, repeat._

He hadn't wanted to put the pressure onto Naruto; after all, it had almost ruined him. If it kept him safe, however... to be evil to be kind, perhaps?

"Kakashi." He ignored the intrusive presence and stared gormlessly at the child swamped by sickly green blankets. "Hatake-san. I'm speaking to you." Seconds ticked by, an uncomfortable silence was exchanged between the numb Shinobi and the exasperated elder. Koharu finally grew impatient of the young man's unappealing behaviour and put her aged hand on his shoulder. A blank-looking black eye met with hers, her throat parched slightly as the prospect of becoming the _boy's _temporary councillor, but it was needed, thus it was her duty.

"What?" He wasn't in the mood to talk, it seemed.

"It was hardly your fault. A security breach perhaps, a fault of the village's. Not a singular Shinobi, not you." Kakashi jolted slightly, doubt seeping into his expression.

"Aaa, but if I had taught him more..."

Koharu stilled. It wasn't a secret that a good portion of Shinobi had disagreed with Sakumo's demanding training regime. To create a Genin at five... it was unheard of, and to most highly inhumane. It was effective though, the sweet, cherubic silver-haired child she remembered had killed more Ninja on the battlefield than she had. Overall, Sakumo had managed unintentionally to create an incredible weapon towards Kohona's benefit. As a whole...Koharu should be pleased. But his prior words resonated somewhere within her.

'_Naruto needs companionship and positive training.'_

Was this was her sensei was talking about? She cared as deeply for the village as her sensei had, but their views slightly differed. While she took Kohona as a whole, her sensei's saw the village for each individual inhabiting it. Was letting Kakashi being turned into a child weapon a good, or an evil? Was letting Kakashi ruin his chance of personal redemption a good or an evil? He needed this, of course; the chance to cultivate a talented Ninja kindly and have him come out alright in the end, to show that their world wasn't as cold and merciless as it seemed, to give him an_ answer. _Tools or people? Love or indifference? This was possibly Kakashi's only chance to save what little identity as a human being he had left. On the other hand, Naruto, the Kyuubi jinchuriki as a weapon would be highly beneficial to Kohona.

When had the words, highly beneficial, become so cold?

"You're teaching him well as you are. Don't train him too harshly." Kakashi blinked in surprise at the uncharacteristic response.

"I would've though you would jump at the chance for..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Another you?" Koharu offered. Her wizened eyes seemed to see straight _into_ him, it was unsettling. Kakashi have a slight nod. "We both know that wouldn't be beneficial for him. Or you."

"Maa, I'm flattered by your concern." A blasé response; it was easy to cover how touched he felt. It wasn't every day that his feelings were taken into consideration, an occupational risk of being a Shinobi.

"I'm sure you are." Koharu gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. "Your boundaries with the boy seep far past the lines of just being his sensei. It's a beautiful relationship; don't ruin it over this one event."

"Hai, Koharu-sama." It had sounded like an order. Kakashi idly noted how questionable it was that he felt more acceptant because of it. Looking at his student sleeping peacefully, he was sickened by the thought of turning his into a psychological wreck. How did his father do it? Did he know the full effects of the lessons he drilled into his young mind? How did he watch the long, hard sessions of training to fatigue and falling hard into the dirt? He couldn't remember a time where he spent with his father that he wasn't covered with scrapes and bruises, or the feeling of aching muscles. He'd been training since he was three after all. He could've, just as easily, turned out like Orochimaru; a talented sociopath, if it wasn't for the kind treatment he received from Minato-sensei.

He wouldn't, and _couldn't,_ train Naruto to that point; the point where he stops being a child and starts being a weapon. He cared for him too much for that.

Why could things never be simple?

"Ah, just the people I was looking for." The spicy aroma of pipe-smoke filled Kakashi's nostrils. He gave a slight inclination of the head to show his respect.

"Hokage-sama."

"Kakashi, Koharu." Hiruzen stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him. "Inochi has finished processing the detainee."

"And?" Koharu prompted eagerly, from her teammate's expression, it hadn't ended well.

"We have no idea of his real name of affiliation, but we do highly doubt his orders came from Iwa. When he seemed to finally release the correct information...he, quite simply, died. Judging by the man's facial expression upon death, I don't think he expected it either."

"Died? How?"

"We suspected seals...or poison, but the autopsy revealed nothing." Kakashi released a string of colourful curses.

"Great, Absolutely fantastic." So, basically, his student may still be in danger and they had no leads? Kakashi was not happy. "What happens now?"

"A few council members are questioning the boy's safety in his current situation." The words, _and your ability to provide sufficient protection, _were left unsaid.

"I have a plan." Hiruzen saw Koharu's sharp gaze at his words and raised an eyebrow.

"You do?"

"I'm moving him into the Hatake compound. It's safer than in his apartment." Hiruzen almost stumbled from the shock. The Hatake compound he refused to set a foot in after his father's demise? The Sandaime's expression softened. _He really cares about Naruto. _Koharu was just happy he wasn't going to train the boy into the ground. "If I may, who was the Chuunin who attempted to save Naruto?"

"Oh, Iruka? Why, if I may ask?"

"Hmm, he seems a little soft. His actions were hesitant, almost as if he didn't want to kill. That's dangerous in a Ninja." Hiruzen grimaced, he cared deeply for Iruka. Though he had to admit, it was true.

"If you're suggesting a demotion..."

"Not at all. Perhaps...babysitting duty?" Kakashi's eye-smile seemed so devious.

"_Babysitting _duty?" The Sandaime exclaimed incredulously. "Do explain."

"Simple, when I'm not here, Iruka acts as an escort and guardian. After all, he can't hate Naruto if he tried to save him." Well, at least he hoped not. "I'd ask one of my...friends to do it, but I only really know Jounin..." He added in afterthought.

"Wouldn't a Jounin be safer?" Koharu queried. She couldn't really see him reasoning to employ a Chuunin.

"Not only would they be away far too often, but they were supposed to be looking after him today, and look at how well that turned out!" He shook his head. Earlier, Anko had practically been in tears over his student's state. He hadn't been sympathetic; it would've been fine if she'd escorted him home. "Besides, I highly doubt a Chuunin would be able to sense the ANBU I assume you're assigning to Naruto." Koharu snorted at his cheekiness. Hiruzen smoked thoughtfully on his newly-lit pipe.

"I'd have to talk to Iruka. His parents were killed in the Kyuubi attack..." He shook his head and smiled warmly at the figure beneath the covers. "But he's generally a kind boy. It's a fine idea, it should mollify the council."

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." Kakashi nodded at the aged leaders and went to sit by his student's unconscious form. Hiruzen paused before he and Koharu both left.

"I'll try and keep you away from missions for now. Spend time with him, Kakashi." _And not so much on the dead._

"Hai, I'll try."


End file.
